Telling the ECSA Story

“I am a transformed man; I want to be exemplary in my community.... I teach my son every day to support the women and girls in our lives because our family’s success depends on it.” In July 2018, CARE International in Uganda conducted a case study, funded by ECHO, on how an Engaging Men and Boys approach can be used in a refugee context. The Role Model Men approach is usually implemented as development, spanning several years. However, CARE wanted to learn more deeply how this can work in a refugee setting, building upon previous experience from ECHO and UNFPA funded projects. CARE International in Uganda has been engaging in the Role Model Men approach since 2010, first focusing on the post-conflict environment.  In total, CARE has trained 1,105 RMM&Bs across the West Nile region who have mentored over 11,050 men and boys in over 8 projects. The case study indicated positive changes in the lives of Role Model Men, their families, and community members. This includes a chang...

By Ninon Ndayikengurukiye Oh Motherhood, wonders of wonders That’s what parents and elders have taught me That motherhood was precious That a smile from a newborn is Such a song that brings to the seventh heaven But I've realized it takes more than a kid’s smile to be a happy mother Oh Motherhood, river pebble Hopelessness when I realized That I did not have enough milk to breastfeed the bones of my own bones And no money to appease their hunger A great sadness lay in me, which overpowered me I break into tears and wince of sorrows In a tighter timeframe, my hopes to be a good mother darken And I realized it takes strength to fail and still stand Memory, Oh memory, Blue like this scarf with unfathomable depths that carries our pain Drown in my kids’ innocent starving eyes Unable to breastfeed them Beaten like a criminal by the father of mine I experienced long months of hospitalization Beaten for missing breast milk, Body’s milk which I’m not potter Distraught after the de...

October 1, 2018 My name is Towongo Richard, I am 23 years old from Yei, South Sudan. I married my wife in 2016 and we are blessed with a baby girl, who is now 1-year old. We started our journey to refuge in October 2017 around 6:00pm on a Sunday due to the ongoing civil war and target killings in South Sudan. Soldiers were killing people in our village without discrimination. We went about 1-mile into the bush to avoid the soldiers from the main road. I was moving with my bicycle, however it got spoiled and I had to abandon it. My wife, being very pregnant, was only able to carry some flour for cooking. We reached a water point and decided to make some food. The water tasted bitter but we were thirsty and hungry and had no choice but to use it. At around 2:00am we reached the foot of Nyangliba mountain and decided to rest there for the night. Role Model Men and Boys in training. After a couple days, we reached the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) border. We entere...

April 21, 2018 Peter Gismala “Sakata” is a South Sudanese refugee living in Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement in Northwestern Uganda. With his wife Besta, he has two children and arrived in Uganda in August 2016. Peter Gismala, Wife Besta and Children at their home   in Ariwa Village, Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, Arua District Uganda. “When I first reached Uganda, life was difficult and I resorted to over drinking alcohol and taking drugs like mairungi and opium as a way of coping with life at the refugee settlement. This instead made me become violent and aggressive to my family and friends. I would come home late, after 12:30am, very drunk and never cared whether the family had eaten or not. I would beat my wife whenever she tried to plead with me to come home early. Several times I came home when I had urinated and defecated on myself. Whenever my wife asked me about it, I would just beat her. My wife tried several times to advise me to change but instead I...