I am pleased to announce that YOLRED, the first platform for Child soldier reintegration and rehabilitation in Africa that is owned and run by the former combatants themselves, is officially launched and up and running. Our work with the YOLRED team in Uganda ended with a public gathering to celebrate the official launch of the platform.

The team was able to share their vision with the public and was received with support from the community and different official stakeholders, NGO's and religious institutions. You can download the brochure that was distributed at the launch event here

It has been an honour to see the fruit of over four years of hard work come to a big milestone, see the members of YOLRED rise and start to carry out a vision they have had on the inside for years.

Currently we are supporting the team in enacting their communications and outreach plan for both local and international supporters. In particular, we are providing some consultative support over the next two weeks to help them create their own website as an ongoing place of information and updates from YOLRED. Watch for an announcement in the next newsletter for the new website!

Now lies a lot of hard but exciting work for YOLRED, but with great support from the Goldin Institute, Arigatou International and wise partners on the ground, the team feels equipped and empowered, ready to reach out to their communities. We are very excited to follow the team’s progress in this coming period.