For the past three weeks, I’ve been interning in Gulu, Uganda with five other students at Grassroots Reconciliation Group, a local NGO whose mission is to facilitate reconciliation and financial recovery programs at the base level. In 2018, GRG expanded its reach to encompass communities of South Sudanese refugees located in the Lawmo region of northern Uganda. This past week, we spent four days in the Palabek refugee settlement to participate in counseling support and peace initiatives.
Prior to this week, I’d heard the phrase “the field” tossed around in the office and seen it in humanitarian aid articles. However, I didn’t really understand this vague phrase and had no idea of what to expect from our trip. But when you’re presented with the opportunity to gain first hand experience with an NGO on the ground, you take it. The six of us eagerly packed into a van, accompanied by our driver and a chicken he bought during our three hour journey.
After a bumpy ride on a winding dirt road, we arrived at the main entry point. The settlement was organized into a main base camp and different zones, further divided into blocks in which refugees from South Sudan lived adjacent to host communities. After registering in the main security tent at base camp, we visited a block to participate in “Community Theater”, one of GRG’s initiatives to creatively address conflict through peaceful performance. The adults in the community performed a skit focused on domestic violence and peace. Upon the conclusion of the performance our group joined the community in dance, shuffling to a melody of voices and drums.
During our second day we observed a peace dialogue led by one of the GRG field staff members. Our coworker facilitated a discussion on the main sources of conflict in the block, which included issues of gender based violence, education, disputes with the host community, and food insecurity. On our third day we participated in a counseling session centered around mental illness and domestic violence. Though we had read GRG reports and done hours of data analysis prior to Palabek, hearing personal stories and connecting faces to the facts expanded our understanding of the situation.
As our time in Uganda comes to a close, I’m left trying to digest what we’ve learned and fully process our experience. Our few days in the settlement left me with mixed emotions– moments of awe, humility, and at times uselessness. The most impactful thing I’ve learned is the importance of genuine human connection and collaborative effort to pursue sustainable solutions and long term change. We departed Palabek with new friends from different corners of the world, Acholi names, and a greater understanding of the complex operations of NGOs on the ground.
Grace Lee is an international studies major at the College of Charleston