Wamare Institute: Supporting Healing and Reintegration in Northern Uganda

December 2, 2019 2 min.

Wamare, meaning “love one another” in Luo, is a survivor-centred initiative developed by Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice to support the healing, recovery, and reintegration of young women formerly abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda.

Launched in April 2017, the Wamare Institute responded to long-standing gaps in support for female returnees, particularly young women returning with children born as a result of rape and sexual enslavement. The Institute focused on women from conflict-affected communities in the north, north-east, and West Nile sub-regions of Uganda.

What we did

The Wamare Institute was a two-week residential programme designed through extensive consultations with female returnees and local service providers between 2014 and 2016. These consultations shaped a methodology grounded in survivors’ priorities, cultural context, and lived realities.

Each Institute brought together a small cohort of participants to support trust, peer connection, and individualised support. Core components included:

  • Peer storytelling, body-mapping, and psychosocial support to aid healing and trauma recovery
  • Health and wellbeing sessions, including sexual and reproductive health, parenting skills, and referrals to local services
  • “Food as medicine” workshops drawing on traditional knowledge to address nutrition and chronic health issues
  • Daily practices such as yoga, meditation, and reflection to support a safe and supportive environment
  • Capacity-building sessions on savings, livelihoods, and small-scale income generation

The Institute was delivered in collaboration with local organisations, psychologists, and service providers in northern Uganda, strengthening local ownership and referral pathways.

Results and outcomes

Between 2017 and 2019, the Wamare Institute supported over 100 young women through multiple Institute cycles and follow-up activities. Beyond the residential programme, the initiative included:

  • Six-month follow-up engagement with participants
  • Support for group-based income-generation projects
  • Seed funding for survivor-led livelihood initiatives
  • Assistance to support children’s access to education

The Wamare Institute helped create peer support networks, strengthened participants’ confidence and coping strategies, and supported longer-term reintegration efforts rooted in survivors’ own priorities and leadership.