One of CERESAV’s main objectives is raising awareness of acid violence, both within Uganda and internationally. This is achieved through social media, TV interviews, and Ugandan newspapers.  We also advocate for changes in the laws related to the sale and distribution of acid, and punishment of perpetrators of acid violence.  This has involved the publication of articles calling for changes to the proposed legislation (Proposed Acid Attack Bill Terribly Inadequate, Dr. James Lutaaya; Now is the Time for Acid Acquisition Legislation, Dr. James Lutaaya) and meeting with members of the Ugandan parliament to lobby for the adoption of stricter acid legislation.

Read about our change.org petition which led to the passing of Toxic Chemicals Prohibition and Control Law!

OUR THEMES

Psychosocial Support Services

CERESAV addresses the devastating impact of gender-based violence (GBV) with comprehensive support for survivors of acid attack violence. Our programs provide psychosocial and emotional counseling, work towards a dedicated rehabilitation center, and secure essential medical partnerships.

• Equip Circles

We empower survivors through community led “Equip Circles” and utilize technology with a GBV mobile app. Our goal is to aid in the healing of survivors, help them regain confidence, and facilitate their successful reintegration into society.

• Hospital visits

CERESAV counselors see over 50 acid and burns violence victims at Mulago Hospital every week and provide counseling, food, and medical supplies.  The unit is poorly equipped and often not able to provide even the most basic of medical supplies, including fresh water, wound dressings, and pain medications.  CERESAV works to secure donations of supplies within Uganda and internationally.  Interested in donating medical supplies?  Please see our Get Involved page for more information.

CERESAV counselors make regular visits to Mulago Hospital Burns Unit.  They bring messages of hope and resilience to survivors in the acute phase of their recovery.  But sometimes, given the enormity of the pain survivors are experiencing, it’s difficult for them to feel any hope at all.  By joining the Interfaith Prayer Team, you sign up to receive weekly emails with the name and picture of a particular survivor, along with a specific prayer requested by the survivor or their counselor. Counselors also provide training in self-care strategies for medical personnel working at Mulago Hospital Burns Unit.  CERESAV counselors receive training through the Global Psychosocial Network (GPN), an international group of mental health providers who provide psychosocial support for other professionals and volunteers engaged in humanitarian, organizational, and activist work in conflict and disaster zones. Interested in learning more about GPN or becoming a GPN provider? Please contact the GPN team to learn more.

Education and child fund

CERESAV dedicates itself to mitigating the devastating impact of gender-based violence (GBV) on children. We provide scholarships and holistic support to ensure children of GBV survivors receive a quality education, alongside specialized counseling to heal from trauma. Our community awareness campaigns challenge harmful stigma, while educational programs empower children to understand healthy relationships and the risks of violence. We work to create a world where the children of GBV survivors reach their full potential in a safe and supportive environment.

• Adult education

CERESAV offers adult education courses in business, craft skills, and computer/internet training. These courses are designed to help empower the survivors by providing them skills that allow them to build self-confidence and enter back in to the workforce. The computer/internet training are our most popular courses, as these help survivors learn to navigate the internet, create an email address and social media accounts, and develop a resume.

Livelihood and Economic empowerment

Persistent poverty limits the opportunity and increases the vulnerability of women and girls, especially survivors of gender-based violence. To break this cycle, CERESAV focuses on economic empowerment. We promote sustainable, climate-conscious businesses, support young women in agribusinesses, facilitate market access, and provide practical skills training. Our goal is to help survivors of gender-based violence gain the knowledge and resources needed to build secure livelihoods and confidently reintegrate into their communities.

Outreach, partnerships and community engagement

CERESAV aims to expand its outreach and build stronger community connections. To achieve this, we seek funding for community events, school visits, and dialogues focused on gender-based violence awareness. We’ll enhance our social media presence, actively seek partnerships with diverse organizations, and create more promotional materials like newsletters and reports. Our updated website will be a central hub showcasing programs, successes, and opportunities for collaboration, ensuring CERESAV’s vital work reaches a wider audience.

Advocacy legal and Human rights

CERESAV faces challenges in providing legal aid to survivors of gender-based violence, including threats to lawyers and limited resources for advocacy. To address this, we’ll leverage technology by creating phone apps to offer legal information and support. Partnerships with pro-bono lawyers and child protection services will be vital. We’ll track cases, develop policy briefs for reforms, and collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts and ensure survivors of gender-based violence have access to justice and safe spaces.

Our legal services department aims to ensure justice from the time the crime is committed to the completion of the trial.

CERESAV legal representatives meet with survivors after their attack to understand how the attack happened, whether it was reported to the police and any police feedback at the time of the report. We obtain medical records for use in court proceedings and are in regular correspondence with the police to ensure all pertinent evidence is available for trial.
Our long-term goal is to offer acid attack survivors private prosecution in consultation with the crown prosecution to provide a more personalized and efficient option to survivors. (This would be within the limitations of the law and with the consent of the Attorney General or of the DPP before the commencement of proceedings.) The CERESAV legal team is currently building relationships with several judicial bodies in Kampala to facilitate this arrangement in the future.

Institutional development

CERESAV aims to strengthen its internal capacity for greater effectiveness. This involves recruiting staff to fill key roles, expanding the board with strategic skillsets, and developing clear protocols for event planning. We’ll focus on establishing robust monitoring and evaluation systems to track progress. Additionally, creating internship positions will provide support for permanent staff and offer developmental opportunities. These actions will enhance CERESAV’s ability to deliver impactful services and attract potential partners.

OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH

By Gender Based Violence fighters for GBV victims and Survivors: At CERESAV from our very inception we were set up and will always maintain a clear “GBV central” brand in all that we do from the design, through implementation, monitoring, evaluations, learning and reporting of all our programmes. We seek to remain relevant to and address the realities, and aspirations of the survivors and victims of gender-based violence as the drivers of sustainable economic growth and national transformation.

Mindset Change: We recognize the need to harness the numerical strength of young women and girls, their intelligence and abundant physical energy to transform the situation in our country. All our programmes will start with a baseline assessment of the mindset or prevailing attitude, to decide how best to stimulate positive self-consciousness, personal and collective responsibility, productivity.

and effective participation for a gender-based violence free space in Uganda.

Inclusive Participation: At CERESAV we are conscious of the growing inequalities in Uganda and the world over, in which the Young girls and women are the most marginalized and the national wealth is owned by very few older persons. We shall therefore always closely watch for the indicators of inclusive growth, and always endeavor to open spaces for women and girl’s participation in shaping for nature and form of inclusion therein.

Creative Innovation: Young girls and women do not only have the most creative and innovative minds, but also derive a lot of satisfaction from spaces that satisfy and facilitate their creativity and innovativeness. Consequently, CERESAV shall promote creativity and innovativeness in all our work and especially so, advocate for polices that promote them. We recognize that Uganda is moving towards ICT. We shall take an advantage of ICT to spearhead our beneficiaries’ innovations and information sharing.

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