Caritas Pader

Caritas Pader is a northern Ugandan branch of Caritas Gulu, a member of Caritas Internationalis, and is led and staffed entirely by Acholis, the ethnic group that inhabits northern Uganda. Caritas Pader has worked with the war-affected population in Pader since the beginning — over 22 years ago — of the devastating war between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Uganda government. Caritas Pader's commitment to provide psychological and material support in the camps for the displaced during the most difficult years of the war, when other organizations left, gained the people's trust.

As people begin to return to their villages after years of living in camps, Caritas Pader is pioneering an innovative grassroots approach that empowers Acholis to reestablish their lives and livelihoods in the face of psychological and practical challenges. Caritas Pader provides agricultural, psychosocial, and reintegration support in rebuilding their villages and their lives. With UUSC support, Caritas's work includes facilitating community dialogues, integrating Acholi cultural values into the return process, helping the communities rebuild trust and cohesion, establishing programs to train community members in leadership and counseling, and developing agricultural and small-husbandry production, as well as other means for livelihood, in a gender-equitable way.