Uganda: The Integration of Child Soldiers into the School System

When the National Resistance Movement came to power in Uganda in 1986, there were a number of child soldiers in the National Resistance Army. These children, many of whom had been orphaned or abandoned, ranged from five to eighteen years of age. They had faced the hardships of war, and many considered the army as their home. The government was faced with the problem of educating them in order to re-integrate them into civil society. A special program was established for the children, which was designed to give them both academic instruction as well as practical training in order to equip them with as much knowledge and as many skills as possible. This document describes the objectives and strategies adopted to integrate the children into the school system. It outlines the steps taken to make the program operational, its successes, the difficulties encountered and the lessons learned. Although the process of integrating child soldiers in Uganda was dictated by the country's own circumstances, it may serve as a useful example for other countries facing similar circumstances., eng