20 years of conflict between a rebel army, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), and the Government of Uganda in the north of the country forced over 1.8 million people to flee their homes and take refuge within displacement camps. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations including mutilation, torture, rape and massacres. During its campaign, the LRA abducted children to be trained and used as soldiers or slaves. The conflict left thousands of children orphaned, traumatized and in most cases without any education whatsoever. Over the last two years while peace negotiations have taken place, security and peace have returned to the region. Communities who were living in displacement camps are returning to their former homes to rebuild their lives. Thousands of abducted children have been released by the LRA and are also returning to their homes. Most of these children are unable to read or write and a generation of illiterate children is now emerging. Thousands of other children have lost one or both parents and are reliant on extended families. These children survive with deep emotional scars due to their traumatic experiences of rape, witness to murder and other atrocities. During the conflict most of the schools in the rural communities were either destroyed or fell into disrepair. Children are now forced to study out in the open under large trees or under temporary shelters which are simply not suitable. Project Aims: The project aims improve the educational system for six of the worse affected communities in Gulu District of Uganda. Particular emphasis will be given to ensuring that former child soldiers and orphans attend school and receive appropriate support to stay in school and learn. This will be achieved by: • Building new classrooms, providing desks, chairs, text books and sports equipment, building basic teacher accommodation and latrine blocks for the girls, boys and teachers. • Providing income generating initiatives for school management committees and parent teacher associations to generate income to maintain the schools and support the most vulnerable children in the community to attend school. • Provide ongoing training and guidance for 60 teachers to enable them to counsel and support former child soldiers and assist them to come to terms with their experiences. • Deliver training for teaching staff to use appropriate measures to resolve conflict between school children and between children and teachers.