What is THRIVEGulu?

THRIVEGulu is a trauma recovery organization.

THRIVEGulu supports survivors of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency and refugees from South Sudan with a mandate to prioritize the unique needs of women and girls’ survivors of violence.

THRIVEGulu believes that meaningful existence is more than mere survival. We believe the invisible wounds of psychological trauma deserve healing. And, we believe that functionality and productivity can only flourish when an individual and her community are more-than-surviving. 

THRIVEGulu was established in 2010 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the US and a registered Non-Governmental Organization in Uganda and provides holistic, integrated counseling and empowerment services to survivors of war.

Vision

Our vision for northern Uganda is one in which all people are treated with dignity, live in safety, and have the chance to contribute to the good of the community.

Mission

THRIVEGulu assists communities in post-conflict northern Uganda to heal from the traumatic effects of war, sexual exploitation, extreme poverty and the resulting loss of opportunities.

Our History

For over two decades, Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army abducted over 60,000 children in northern Uganda to serve as child soldiers and brides. More than 2 million civilians were forced to flee their homes, living in the squalor and instability of Internally Displaced Persons camps, some for over a decade. More than 100,000 people were killed. The LRA left behind a society psychologically traumatized by war, poverty, lack of education, sexual violence, and hopelessness.

In 2010, THRIVEGulu gave birth to the region’s only trauma recovery center. Our founder, Professor Emerita Judy Dushku of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, USA identified a need for women survivors of the LRA war to have a safe space to gather, support one another, and begin to recover individually and collectively from trauma.

From an original vision to build a community of strength, hope and healing has grown an organization internationally recognized as a leader in innovative, holistic psychosocial interventions and individual and community empowerment. Our commitment is twofold: Go to the most marginalized places and war affected peoples; and work with individuals and communities as partners. From survivors to THRIVERS, we triumphantly proclaim: “Together We THRIVE!”

Nondiscrimination Statement

THRIVEGulu champions gender equality and does not discriminate on the basis of religion, age, disability, ethnicity, color, marital status, sexual orientation or sex (including gender identity and gender stereotyping) in regards to beneficiaries or staff.