What is a child mother? A child mother is a girl child who has conceived children. Girls become child mothers because they are deemed expendable in a variety of ways:

1. LRA rebel abduction where the girls not only become child soldiers but also sex slaves to the older men of the LRA. Joseph Kony, alone, is said to have 40 to 50 "wives" and fathered several hundred children.
2. Rape within the IDP camps by those that were there to protect them from LRA. IDP camps are now all but gone, however rape prevalence is high from family members to military men. They target primarily younger girls as they are the most vulnerable.
3. Young girls (orphans) who are lured by older men with promises of money, education, a cell phone and/or food if she says "yes" to sex.
4. Some girls are "sold" by other family members. The reasons for this are varied including men who "buy" sex with these girls from a family member because they believe that having intercourse with a virgin will cure them of HIV/AIDS. Regardless of the reason, rape is rape and no one should be for sale.

Regardless of their story – the end result is horrible and the same. They are filled with deep trauma. They are often stigmatized in the community with blame for what has happened to them. They have all missed the opportunity to attend school and are thus without any skills to earn an income.

The child mothers are not able to access healthcare, food, clothing and education for their children. There is need to support these child mothers so that they are able to generate incomes to sustain their families, heal their traumas, and break the cycle of neglect and abuse that was inflicted upon them.

Many children orphaned by the two decades of war and HIV/AIDS are very vulnerable in the communities and are not able to access quality education. These children and their siblings are often referred to as "Child-headed Households" and "Sibling Families".

Many orphaned children drop out of school due to lack of basic school requirements or simply because they do not see any hope in continuing with education which becomes expensive the higher they go. The burden of losing ones parents, being a child and suddenly forced to carry grown-up responsibilities of raising your siblings, managing a household and generating an income to keep everyone alive becomes too great. The idea of education quickly becomes a dream that they feel is not achievable for them.

This dropout has generated a lot other problems like early marriages and prostitution among young girls in the communities. There is need to support these children to continue with education and ease their massive responsibilities at home as they are now a child acting as a parent. School provides skills and tools to get a job, earn a living, and not become a source of social unrest and insecurity in their communities.

Attiak has a number of widows not only as a result of LRA activity but due to HIV/AIDS. Husbands and partners either die or simply walk away, leaving the women to deal with raising a family. AIDS carries such a stigma still, that these men would rather abandon their families, move on to another community where they will infect more women, then deal with the reality of supporting their wife and children. The 1995 massacre of over 300 people in a single night has attributed to a number of widows and orphaned children. To date, there is no agency targeting these widows and orphans specifically in their programs. The Widows, much like child mothers, do not have a stable means of earning an income yet the burden of sustaining the family remains largely on them. They cannot adequately meet the basic needs of their family, therefore future programs targeting widows should focus on empowering them with adequate resources for income generation so that they too can become self reliant members of the community.

There's a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Northern Uganda which, like most of Africa, leaves the women particularly vulnerable. Equal human rights and women in Africa generally do not run in the same sentence.

The epidemic has left hundreds of children orphaned in Attiak while many more are living with AIDS. Because parents – most of which are widows - living with AIDS are too weak to work in economically viable activities like farming, they are not able to provide basic needs for their children. Sadly many orphaned children have dropped out of school to engage in child labour to a earn living.

The number of persons living with AIDS in Attiak is high. According to the local leaders, in a World Vision Uganda test, out of 100 people tested, 35 were found HIV positive. World Vision testing and support ended abruptly in 2004 and the PLWHA had nowhere to turn. Outside of Caleb's Hope, no organization is working with or supporting them. They are not receiving counselling and treatment for their illness.

There's one story, confirmed by local leaders, that people woke up one morning to find that a man in the village had pinned up names of numerous women on trees claiming that he is HIV positive (leaving himself anonymous of course) and he had sexual intercourse with all the women listed. One lady committed suicide and another woman, as the locals put it "developed mental problems" and broke down, wandering the streets naked as a result. Not only does the disease itself require treatment, but the stigma and attitude toward PLWHA needs to be addressed. To commit suicide or have an extreme mental breakdown in the streets of your village is by no means indicating a strong support for these individuals and a positive awareness of their illness.

Some of the Problems Faced by PLWHA in Attiak

Meaningful and practical rehabilitation programs to deal with the personal development and healing of the individual and her children are key. We utilize various forms of therapy from group dynamics training to art and sports-based therapy for the children.

The formula is simple: first, we look at what industries are indigenous to the region. Out of those industries, we then ask, "what has the lowest start-up cost with the potential to generate a higher return?" We also factor in skills training and development time with this question. Once a business venture is decided and voted on collectively by the group of women, we begin. The women receive first and foremost group dynamic training. This simple and effective training teaches the women the power of the group: of sticking together, supporting each other and counselling each other as women. They focus on the re-development self-esteem, self-respect and healing.

The second step is learning the business and opening a bank account. None of these women have ever had a bank account. Although opening a bank account is a relatively short process, business training isn't. It's an ongoing endeavour that can last a few years just to get down the basics. Once the women begin to generate an income, they vote on whether they would like a village bank, develop their own counsel and elect within their group, their representatives.

The third step is exploring other avenues of income generating. Just like in any business, you start with one product and you grow from there. With the Attiak beneficiaries we have started with paper bead jewelry, a local arts and craft that affords a low start up cost. Then we graduate to sewing projects, textile growing, and agriculture – which can yield a diverse range of products. Within the agricultural development, there are many factors we look at including but not limited to: food security, hygiene/safe food preparation, regenerating land, ethical livestock rearing. All livestock rearing under Caleb's Hope is done in compliance with WSPA guidelines. We believe in ethical treatment and welfare of animals.

Fast forward: When a woman's business is built and sufficient training is provided for long-term growth, we then guide her through the process of becoming registered in her country as a for-profit business venture. She is no longer dependant on Caleb's Hope to generate funds. We will always have local fellow Acholi coordinators on the ground to act as their colleagues and peers. If a new business owner needs to reach out to her Acholi peers for consultation on her business, she can do that easily.

The Nyara ladies are currently at the third step with a much empowered counsel and group reps. They need some funding to become fully independent business women. Please visit our "get involved" page or hit the donate button to find out how you can invest in their businesses!