OUR SERVICES

Some of the perennial issues in mental health include; stigma, financial crisis, impact of Covid 19, few champions, adverse childhood experiences, sexual and gender based violence, stress, alcohol, drug and substance abuse, cultures and customs, poverty, climate changes, separation and divorce, low levels of mental health literacy within the communities among others.

The composite term ‘Mental Health and Psychosocial Support’ (MHPSS) is used in the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for MHPSS in Emergency Settings to describe ‘any type of local or outside support that aims to protect or promote psychosocial well-being and/or prevent or treat mental health condition’

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to realize their abilities, cope with the stresses of life, learn and work well, and contribute to the community. The above perennial issues in mental health do not segregate and therefore affects everyone regardless of social status, intelligence, income level.

A mental illness is a health problem that affects people’s thoughts, mood, behavior or the way they perceive the world around them. Mental illness causes distress and may affect the person’s ability to function at work, in relationships or in everyday tasks. Mental illnesses can range from mild disorders lasting only a few weeks through to severe illnesses that can be life-long and cause serious disability.

The people of northern Uganda and West Nile have suffered drastic negative impacts of Wars of liberation of 1979 and 1980 and the northern war that lasted over 20 years during the insurgencies led by the Lord Resistance Army LRA led by Joseph Kony and West Nile Liberation front II that was led by the late Maj Gen Alhaji Bamuze have left many people wounded both physically and emotionally.

HIV AIDS didn’t spare the people and has taken root in the areas as well, COVID 19 Pandemic and abandonments/rejection from different spheres of life all have added injuries to the existing deep wounds. There is need for individuals, groups, organizations and institutions to play either individually or collectively in building a healthy, holistic wellbeing of a person/ group of people who have and are still experiencing the challenges in the communities such as;

(1) High rate of poverty in all its forms (spiritual, social, economic etc. (2) Trauma. (3) Loss of self-esteem, passion, dreams and vision due to rejections from different spheres of life. (4) Poor and negative attitude and mindset to life. (5) A state of confusion, bitterness, anger and jealousy. (6) Increased cases of teenage pregnancies. (7) Increased number of street children and street adults. (8) Drug and substance abuse. (9) Increased rate of Unemployment. (10) Increased rate of domestic violence, separation and divorce. (11) Increased cases of depression, suicide and murder. (12) Dysfunctional societies with high crime rate.
All these above challenges can be reduced through psycho- social support and a holistic counseling to transform lives and communities.

A huge portion of the population of Ugandans is unemployed. Factors contributing to this are political instability, family challenges, poverty, HIV pandemic, poor education system, Covid 19 pandemic among others. Rejections from family, school, place of work etc. has also added more injury to the already huge wounds and depression is on the rise killing more men their dreams today more than any virus.

According to WHO report on 30 January 2020, depression whose main roots are from rejection and heartbreak is a common illness worldwide, with more than 264 million people affected. Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds.

When this entire huge potential workforce has no solution to life’s predicaments, the alternative is to indulge in vices like robbery, murder, riots, drug abuse, rape, defilement, suicide etc. This further endangers their lives and affects the society and nation Uganda at large. No wonder most Uganda Prisons are full.
These issues can only be addressed through capacity building for the people in our communities.

We offer consultancy to people who need to consult on various aspects in line with what we do. We work with different people and offer them the necessary support they need from us. As iron sharpens iron, we network and offer the services.

Trauma is not a sickness. It is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation and if it is not treated it can lead to sicknesses. It is a severe, sudden, unpleasant and upsetting experience. Trauma occurs when a life threatening event mobilizes all senses and other biological mechanisms for instance sight, sound, smell, taste and touch (senses) and suppression of emotions. When suppressed these events have the energy to return both in waking and sleeping states, often totally uncontrolled by the affected person. They can come at anytime and anywhere causing the feeling of mental chaos. These affect the physical, social and psychological functioning of a person. Both children and adults can be traumatized.

What happens if we ignore trauma? "Hurt people will hurt others" If we don't use the energy accumulated during the freeze response for something productive, we may use it against ourselves or others. When we turn trauma energy against ourselves, we call it acting in and when we turn trauma energy against others, we call it acting out.

Acting in can include;

(1)Addiction, Alcohol or drugs, sex, gambling (2) Overworking (3) Risk sexual behavior (4) Depression, sadness, withdrawal or hopelessness (5) Feelings of numbness, anxiety, self-blame shame, emptiness, worthless (6) Physical ailments: pain, headache, change in appetite, weakness.

Acting Out can include;

(1)Criminal behavior and violent acts (2) Aggression, blaming others, irritability (3) Inability to be flexible, tolerant of show empathy (4) Domestic violence and sexual abuse (5) Repetitive conflicts.

Remember that acting in and acting out behaviors lead to cycles of violence, both against oneself and others. All these above can be minimized by having a program for trauma healing and management done by voice of restoration international to achieve the vision and mission.

Poor parenting skills of parents in West Nile has brought a huge gap in upbringing children. Many parents have abandoned the role of raising their kids and putting their children to order to teachers/schools or peers, and left them at large to drink alcohol eat mairungi, spend night life of disco, videos, restless sex that has increased teenage pregnancy and child marriage. No punitive measures against children/youth by their parents who lead restless life of loitering out of school taking all forms of drugs e.g. sniffing petrol, drugs etc. which habits they take to school and cause havoc, disrespect teachers and engage in mischievous acts.

Not prioritizing Education has also been a huge challenge. Parents are busy abandoning the responsibility of educating their children to teachers/school and government. Parents do not attend school meetings and if they do are reluctant to pay for any costs. While we the old boys and girls and professionals, business people academia etc. from the region do not look back to provide mentorship on regular basis and support our schools in the region like elsewhere.
All these above challenges can be reduced through programs for positive parenting skills for parents to change their lives and the lives of their children.

Many young people are vulnerable because they have no one to look at for counsel and guidance. Youths both in school and out of school have their potentials for development, keeping them out of dangers like drugs, HIV/AIDS, breaking the yoke of vulnerability and eradicate poverty in Uganda is needed.
When such energetic people have no direction, the impact is huge on the society. There is need for mentorship programs to give direction for their lives.

Many youths and adults have become drug addicts, using drugs of all kinds as an escape route from the pains of life. Many drug addicts have developed severe ailments and mental health challenges that has ruined their lives. This challenge can be reduced through programs for rehabilitating the drug addicts through professional counseling and psychosocial support to the victims.

Many communities struggle with the challenge of poverty at all fronts. This poverty can be social, financial, spiritual, emotional, mental, physical family wise, career wise and so on and there is need to alleviate it and develop their community. God has placed men and women in the community to show his loving concern and help the poor to develop.

The goal of Transformational Development is to promote development that truly transforms communities. Based on Biblical truths and principles, Transformational Development helps people see the many resources God has given us and how to be good stewards of these resources.

Many people do not document events in the communities. We are blessed with rich heritages but few people know about them since they are not documented and published. Few people have tried to research, write and publish articles for future reference to help others with information.
The costs involved in publishing are high in Uganda that few people can afford. We are committed to helping people to write and publish at minimal costs.

Child abuse also known as maltreatment is the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation, which results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.

Violence, exploitation and abuse in all forms puts children’s physical and mental health and education at risk, jeopardizing their development and entire future. We work to build a strong system to prevent and respond to violence against children and women in all contexts.

Most children in Uganda have experienced physical violence that threatens and halts their holistic and positive development – 59 per cent of girls and 68 per cent of boys. Gender-based violence and sexual violence are also pervasive, with some 35 per cent of girls and 17 per cent of boys having experienced sexual violence during childhood.

Girls are especially at risk of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and female genital mutilation. Today, 4 in 10 women aged 20 to 49 years are married by 18 years, and at least 1 in 4 teenage girls are either pregnant or have a child.

Child labour is pervasive, with children mainly working in the informal sector. In rural areas, 93 per cent of children are engaged in agriculture and fishing.

Mindset is the biggest obstacle to deal with when it comes to undertaking any kind of project. Each one of has the three sets of mindset to work with daily. The past, present and future. Each of these three mindsets affect how each person views life.

When we think about the past especially the failures, how many times we have tried in the past and failed, we can be afraid that we will continue to fail and lose just like in the past. Our focus and attention goes straight to the pains and failures. Many people have been controlled by this negative mindset due to many failed attempts in the past. This mindset paralyses you in that you fail to try again. We fear to move on because of your past pains and failures in relationships, marriage, business ideas, etc. We need to first develop a new mindset and see things with optimistic eyes. The fight inside the mind is worse than the fight outside. We have fights insides in our minds because of the different events in our lives. Many times we fight battles that are not our own.

When we think about the present, the obstacles are about our current circumstances. We always look at our lack of this and that. This mindset leads us to think that we do not have what it takes to change our lives and community.

When we think about the future, our focus is about what our future will look like when we succeed in whatever we want to do. The life and community we envision at the success end will pull us through the difficult times of the present and helps us to overcome the failures of the past.

In this age of distraction, many of us find it difficult to reach lives of peak potential. With worries centered around finances, families, anxiety, fear, and distractions coming at us from all directions it’s hard to focus on improving ourselves.We get carried on the wave of stress that our lives bring and can’t figure out how to live the lives we dream of.

The good news is you don’t have to stay stuck on the hamster wheel of life. You can achieve your goals once you shift your focus to self-improvement instead of survival–and it can be easier than you think. You can transform your life with joy, and it’s a shift we believe is worth making.

Conflict, arguments, and change are natural parts of our lives, as well as the lives of every agency, organization and nation.Conflict resolution is a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. The disagreement may be personal, financial, political, or emotional. When a dispute arises, often the best course of action is negotiation to resolve the disagreement.

In our communities, there are rampant land wrangles/ conflicts, high rate of Gender Based Violence, high rate of separation and divorce due to domestic violence, rampant murder cases, high number of orphaned children because of poor handling of conflicts.

The goals of negotiation are:

To produce a solution that all parties can agree to
To work as quickly as possible to find this solution
improve, not hurt, the relationship between the groups in conflict

Conflict resolution through negotiation can be good for all parties involved. Often, each side will get more by participating in negotiations than they would by walking away, and it can be a way for your group to get resources that might otherwise be out of reach.

In Africa, particularly Uganda, most children are not taught in any form about financial literacy. All the children see is the expenses during parties and functions. So what happens to the next generation then? It is now our duty to go from pay cheque to pay cheque challenge to financial freedom for many of us. Many people have built expensive lives they cannot sustain because they continuously spend everything they earn and as such, have a revolving door for their money.

Financial independence starts with financial literacy because one has to acquire knowledge, skill and confidence to use money well

Sexual and Gender Based Violence has caused a lot of negative effects in our families and communities.

SGBV includes Physical violence,
(i). Verbal violence,
(ii). Psychological violence,
(iii). Sexual violence,
(iv). Socio-economic violence,
(v). Domestic violence or in intimate relationships,
(vi). Harassment and sexual harassment.

All these forms of SGBV have a negative impact on mental health and equally mental health escalates sexual and Gender Based Violence. We need to address this and end GBV in our communities.