Patongo Orphan Infant Health Rehabilitation (PAORINHER)

Patongo Orphan Infant Health Rehabilitation (PAORINHER) is a community based organisation established in October 2007 against the background of over 20 years of brutal and destructive war between Uganda Army and Lord Resistant Army (LRA) rebels. The initiative begun by providing residential care, food, clothing, medication and social support to orphans at the centre in Patongo and extending basic medical, nutrition and counselling support to children situated far away from the Centre.

The Centre has been in existence for 10 years, providing ECD, HIV care, nutrition and economic strengthening programs working in various sub counties in Agago district. Paorinher is the only institution of its kind in Agago to be providing HIV sensitive care to OVCs. A nursery and Primary School runs alongside the project to restore dignity and hope for the future. Over 700 pupils attends nursery and primary education in PAORINHER centre and over 300 families of affected children in various sub-county locations are being aided in food production, nutrition, counselling and poultry farming.

With more support from people like you, we hope to increase our reach to more HIV+ children and Mothers, and also to provide counselling to children like Florence.

Florence was 11 when she was abducted and taken north to Sudan. She was kept tied up for ten days with virtually no
food, and then given to an LRA commander as his ‘wife’. Trained as a soldier and given a gun, she was forced to fight
and kill. “Despite all the brainwashing and killing, I wanted to escape”.

During a militia operation, Florence managed to run away. Returning home she was told that her parents were dead.
Four of her seven siblings had also been abducted – she was the only one to return alive. Now living with her
grandparents, she is responsible for bringing up the surviving family. Florence, like so many thousands of children and
adults in Northern Uganda, has suffered enormous trauma.

We kindly ask you to give whatever you can, together we can give these children a future they can be proud of. Every little helps.