A little peak.

HEALS from Denise Rosenstein on Vimeo.

Thank you so much to Denise Rosenstein for letting us use this video! We greatly appreciate it!

Needed...

We need people who are just as passionate or business minded that might be interested in being donors and members of our board of directors.

We love what we are involved in but we need your help.

Please email us at heals.gulu@gmail.com if you are interested.

We will be taking applications for interns later this year.

Going Home...

Hey friends!!! So alllll of you know that Im a Ugandan at heart, and I figure now is about time to start planning and acting on how Im going to help the Acholi people long term. The history of the Acholi tribe has had many hardships but collectively they are the happiest, most joyful people Ive ever been so blessed to be apart of their lives. Im working on the HEALS initiative with my life long best friend, Lindsey Fitzgerald (some of you just know her as Gerald). If you take a few moments to read my other entries you can educate yourself on Africas longest running war. I know without a shadow of a doubt that my faith has called me to work in Uganda side by side with the Acholi. They have captivated my heart.

Im asking all of you as my dear friends and beloved family to support my mission. On the right hand side Ive created a couple links that are convenient for you to give a very meaningful gift that will directly effect the lives of many people who need you.

If you have any questions or comments or concerns please email me at heals.gulu@gmail.com

Please stay posted for our many updates and events.

Rachel Ryan

About HEALS and Jolly Okot

Since 1986, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has led a civil war in Northern Uganda. The primary victims of this war have been the Acholi people, 30,000 of their children abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves. 95% of LRA forces are made up of abducted children and that 1.6 million Ugandans are displaced in the camps due to this war. In addition to being ravaged by more than 20 years of war, Northern Uganda faces one of the highest HIV prevalence in the country.

H.E.A.L.S is a registered non-profit organization based in Gulu, Northern Uganda. H.E.A.L.S was founded by Jolly Grace Okot who was among the first children abducted by the rebels in 1986. She was forced to work as a child soldier for two years later. Jolly returned to school and went on to work with several international organizations such as Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontiers-Holland, InterAid International, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Having directly experienced the effects of war gave Jolly a deep understanding of what war-affected children in Northern Uganda were going through and inspired her to start her own non-profit organization.In 2003, Jolly created H.E.A.L.S so that war-affected children could be provided with a variety of programs and services including school sponsorship, health education, literacy classes as well focusing on recovery, and provides children with a safe space to play after school through its Play Therapy Program, which offers traditional dance and music classes, sporting activities, and art classes.

HEALS Rundown

HEALS (Health, Education, Arts, Literacy, Sports) is an after school play therapy outlet for the war-affected youth of northern Uganda. This amazing program is the dream of a remarkable woman called Jolly Grace Okot. Many of you who are familiar with the movement of Invisible Children are already acquainted with Madame Jolly. Jolly was one of the first female child soldiers as a product of Joseph Kony’s nightmare of a war that has been oppressing the beautiful people in northern Uganda for now 24+ years. Now that the north is relatively peaceful, there is much rehabilitation to be done. Our goal is to build HEALS into a stronger, more sustainable program that empowers and enriches the students that we sponsor. HEALS is an after school outlet where kids can be kids. They come to our facility to play traditional instruments, learn traditional and hip hop dance, do art, photography, play football (both American and European), learn to read, and grow as positive figures in society.

As of now, HEALS is SOLELY funded by a non-profit cafe called, Kope Cafe. Lindsey and I are basically going to mold this project and make it our own. We plan to (but aren’t limited to…ideas encouraged) create a steady flow of volunteers (which is highly lacking currently), continue to grow in numbers of students we sponsor in the program (which includes supplying them with school fees since secondary school in Uganda is not free), make sure Kope Cafe has adequate and quality equipment so they can continue to sustain a steady income for HEALS, and eventually start a scholarship program for our students to continue their education and be strong members of their society.

Please direct all questions to heals.gulu@gmail.com