In the aftermath of the war

ALARM Technical Centre Pader District

After 20 years of war in Northern Uganda, many thousands of people were killed. Those that survived witnessed the horrors of war and saw family members killed. Many are victims of abduction by rebel soldiers, and others are ravaged by HIV/AIDS and poverty.
During the war, children were often denied a childhood or any sense of family. Many were abducted at a very young age and trained as soldiers in a war that has devastated the region. Others born and raised in Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps have known only war, poverty and societal degeneration. With no social framework to embrace as the context for a stable community, they have grown up in fear of abduction, rape, forced early marriages, and other abuses.
Today, as peace begins to settle into the region, these young people are left in a state of shock and confusion. They have not been taught the skills with which to survive in a peaceful world and have nowhere to turn. In these conditions, young people trying to make ends meet, get into trouble and resort to stealing to get money to survive.
As a result, an area like Pader has little or no social infrastructure. There are only two secondary schools and no vocational schools.
In order to help these young people develop skills for living in a peaceful community, economic self-sustenance and independence, and cultivate spiritual development, ALARM-Uganda built a vocational training centre that will teach young people a job skill. The Centre will also teach a post conflict and peace building program to train local government officials and church leaders in Northern Uganda.
The Centre will open in May 2010 with 60 students. The facilities can accommodate up to 120 students. The initial vocations to be taught at the Centre are Computer Technology, Bricklaying, Cooking and Hair Dressing. Eventually additional vocations will be added such as: construction, auto mechanics, agriculture, welding, and arts & crafts.
All students will take courses in peace & reconciliation, leadership development, agricultural methods, small enterprise business skills, bookkeeping, basic literacy and math.
A student will train for 9 months. ALARM will also train for 2 years to receive a Certificate, and in the future offer a Diploma after 3 years of training.  Only $70 per month will support a student by providing them with tuition, school supplies and room and board.