Reintegration of former child soldiers: the reintegration process in Gulu, Uganda, from an ecological perspective.

Abstract: Child soldiers are one of the major problems in modern society. In the case of northern Uganda, child soldiers (or formerly abducted children) have been used for decades in the conflict between the government and the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army. Uganda is now facing a great challenge rehabilitating those children. The purpose of this study has been to describe and analyze the reintegration process of formerly abducted children from an ecological perspective with focus on networks surrounding the child. I aimed to increase the understanding of reintegration with the children's backgrounds as a starting point. This has been achieved through contacts with a local rehabilitation center. The information has been collected through eleven qualitative interviews with formerly abducted children, their guardians, social workers and culturally well-informed individuals. It has been analyzed from the perspective of the Ecology of Human Development. The results show the importance of local culture in the reintegration process, as well as the importance of networking and keeping a holistic perspective. Although much is being done today, a lot more could be achieved through an increased capacity of different networks surrounding the children.