RESPECT Partners Hope to Participate in Roots & Shoots
The Agoro Community Development Association (ACDA) and RESPECT International will begin working with Partnerships in Understanding (PIU). Partnerships in Understanding is a correspondence program that pairs Roots & Shoots groups from around the world. By sharing information and ideas, young people have the opportunity to celebrate their own cultures and learn about those of others.
The goal of the partnership is to help refugee and non-refugee students build awareness, communicate, and gain a better understanding of one another.
In Agoro, seventeen years of civil war and tribal conflict have left the communities with few resources. In the midst of the turmoil, education has become a luxury. About 50,000 children were forced out of schools in Northern Uganda last year. Not only do Agoro students lack educational resources, they also face war, the fear of abduction, and AIDS/HIV infection. Many children are trying to survive as orphans.
There are six primary schools in Agoro today. With the support of RESPECT International and PIU these students can feel more connected to the world beyond their village by sharing their stories with other students.