WAN group memebers gathered in the shade of large trees, the branches splitting the sun, while the men and women split sugar cane with thier teeth. They waited, talking and laughing, for goats and sheep to arrive.

Last week, Justice and Reconciliation Project staff completed deliveries of more than 100 animals to conflict affected areas across the Northern Region. They traveled to Lapano, Nomakora,  Adjumani, Soroti and Abiya. The following photo essay documents the process and the imapact these animals will have on the community.

Here, a woman waits to receive her goat in Adjumani. Following trainings on financial management and animal care, JRP staff delivered more than 100 goats and sheep to groups to community groups during the month of October.

The deliveries were a cause for great celebration. One woman said, “This is going to change our lives. We were people who faced torture in the bush by the rebels, but now we have been picked again into somebody . . . The trauma that we had, it is going to go away.”

Many will use the money raised from the animals to pay schools fees for their children, providing an education to the next generation.  According to one woman, “I have children which I came with from the bush. The goats will help support them.”

Others will repair their homes, pay medical bills and provide more nutritious food for thier families.

The deliveries mean that both men and women will be able to provide effectively, something that was often very difficult before. One man said, “That goat is going to change me in the community. It is going to change my life. It is going to take me from zero up to at least somewhere.”

For a long time people in Northern Uganda were neglected and thier stories were ignored. One woman said, “We were people who had been forgotten; voiceless; who could not speak from anywhere.”

Institutional support is also lacking. Another woman said, “JRP is the first organization that has come in to recuse my life and rescue my family.”

Here, residents of Lapono lead their goats home. One man said, “Since I came back from the bush I never got any assistance from anyone.”

The JRP project is a symbol of hope and life. According to a resident of Soroti, “We are now seeing life coming back to us. As a victim, I am very proud for this. I pray, people of good will, to always remember people who were victimized.”

Here, one man dances with his new goat, beaming.  Recipients  were eager to name the animals and to welcome them home, promising to care for them well.

Deliveries will also bring change and progress to the community as a whole. One woman said, “We are going to be examples in the community. We are going to see ourselves as people of change in the that community and we are going to be people the community can account for.”

Here, an man prepares to travel with his new goat. He wears a shirt from JRP bearing the slogan, Speak up and Act. SGBV is real.  The powerful message speaks to the horror of the past. While there are numerous challenges still to overcome in the North, the future is bright.