From the Jungles and Making it Back Home:

What Happens When the World Comes to Listen Safina was nine years old when she was taken. She spent five years in the jungle, was handed over to a man who abused her, and her body still carries bullet fragments that cause her pain to date. When she finally came home, the welcome was complicated by stigma, silence, and a past no one wanted to speak about. Last month, she sat across from ambassadors and envoys from seven EU member states along with their partners URI-Great Lakes and Mercy Corps and told them her story. And they listened. That moment a survivor speaking her truth to some of the most powerful development partners in the region is exactly what this work is about -going at the grassroots where real issues happen and where most stories are remain untold. Why Bundibugyo? Bundibugyo sits on Uganda's western border with the DRC, beautiful, mountainous, and for decades one of the most dangerous places in the region. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) have terrorized communities here since the early 1990s, abducting children from schools, homes, and places of worship. Despite this, the district has long been overlooked by international development aid. In April 2026, URI-Great Lakes and member organization FORARO, in collaboration with Mercy Corps, organized a field engagement for the EU Delegation, heads of mission, ambassadors, and envoys from France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Sweden, led by Deputy Ambassador Guillaume Chartrain. They came to understand the realities of violent extremism, defection, and reintegration in the Rwenzori region. They came, most importantly, to listen. “This mission was crucial in identifying gaps and providing targeted assistence where needed” Guillaume Chartain, Deputy Ambassador, EU Delegation. Fifteen People, Decades of Survival. The delegation met fifteen returnee women and men who had spent years, others decades, in ADF captivity. Thomas (not real name) spent fourteen years there. He described the first day: someone was beheaded in front of them as a warning. Recruits were told they were neither human beings nor animals. Majid (Not real name) was eleven when he was taken in 1997; he returned five years later to find his entire family killed. Liton (not real mane) was abducted at sixteen, escaped after a UPDF ambush, and came home to find his family's property claimed by others  carrying gunshot wounds he still lives with. Tammon(Not real name) spent fifteen years inside the ADF before surrendering after hearing UN and UPDF appeals for amnesty. These are not statistics, these are natives-children of the soul, neighbors, siblings, and parents trying to rebuild within communities that sometimes don't know how to receive them. Girls as young as nine were given as forced wives. Children born in captivity have no documentation, no recognized identity. Women returned with trauma, health complications, and no path to justice. The Gaps That Remain Coming home is only the beginning. Amnesty certification which is a critical legal step, has been unevenly accessible, leaving many returnees without official support. Access to key social services remains an uphill task for a Returnee, with the National Identification being a critical requirement to most services, be it health, employment, financial support, proof of citizenship, name it, remains a major stumbling block for many of them to be fully reintegrated in the community. Mental health and psychosocial care are urgently needed; several returnees are also living with untreated physical injuries most of them sustained from bullets. Years in the bush mean lost education, lost skills, lost identity and no livelihood pathways making re-recruitment or re-offending a real and ongoing risk. And stigma from families and communities compounds everything, leaving many in balance. What Your Support Has Made Possible The PEARL project is working at the intersection of prevention and reintegration, psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, community awareness and resilience, and advocacy and local action. In Bundibugyo, the project has helped integrate the Prevention of Violent Extremism into the Local Government budget and established a Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism (PCVET) platform bringing state and non-state actors together. That is governance-level change made possible through patient, local advocacy. The EU visit itself was a direct product of this work, creating the conditions for real listening. Bringing ambassadors from seven countries face to face with fifteen survivors required years of trust-building and the courage of returnees willing to share the hardest moments of their lives. That trust is your investment at work. Safina came home carrying bullet fragments and a story the world had not heard. Last month, ambassadors across Europe heard it. The work now is to make sure that hearing leads to action and that people like Safina, Majid, Linton, Thomas, and Tammon don't just survive their return, but truly recover. Thank you for being part of making that possible.