LRA child mothers get family planning tips

Sep 02, 2009

FORMER LRA child mothers and other former abductees have been cautioned against producing many children whom they cannot feed and educate. The leaders advised organisations that are giving vocational skills to the former captives to include family plannin

By Chris Ocowun

FORMER LRA child mothers and other former abductees have been cautioned against producing many children whom they cannot feed and educate. The leaders advised organisations that are giving vocational skills to the former captives to include family planning training on their syllabus.

Gulu district secretary for community services, Santa Oketta, said: “We don’t want quantity but quality children. Fewer children are easier to manage. Take the issue of family planning seriously,” she advised 240 formerly abducted children and other war-affected persons. The people were trained in vocational skills through Gulu Support the Children Organisation (GUSCO) on Thursday.

Gulu deputy resident district commissioner, Milton Odongo, handed over sewing, brick-laying and carpentry machines and bicycles to the group.

Sister Mary Oker, the head of the GUSCO board of directors, said: “Please, men, leave these young girls alone. Girls, these men are walking devils, don’t sell the machines we are giving you today to buy them eggs.”

She later complained that many tools had been given to the former LRA returnees by various organisations, but the donations have never improved the living conditions of the recipients because they sell them on receipt.

Odongo appealed to NUREP and Save the Children to continue supporting GUSCO so as to train and equip the LRA returnees with more vocational skills.

Louis Okello, the GUSCO programme coordinator, thanked Save the Children and NUREP for funding the training.

He said since the UPDF launched an offensive against the LRA last year, they received 40 captives, 37 of whom had been reunited with their families.

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