GRASSROOTS RECONCILIATION GROUP
Innovative projects for refugees, former child soldiers, and host communities in northern Uganda
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Programs for former child soldiers and refugees
We have five main types of projects for former child soldiers and refugees in Northern Uganda. These include:
- Livelihoods
- Trauma support
- Community microfinance
- Reconciliation
- Cultural activities
Each group designs its own projects. The group first develops its own multi-year development plan, which may include a range of different types of projects to support the individuals’ and groups’ development.
Track record: GRG’s first decade of work from 2007 to 2017 was focused on addressing key needs in northern Uganda that emerged from the 30-year war with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). We focused on helping former LRA child soldiers and other ex-combatants reintegrate into their communities and rebuild their lives through innovative reconciliation, microfinance, livelihoods, and trauma counseling projects. We successfully help reintegrate former combatants in 27 communities in remote areas. 98% of the former child soldiers reported having better relationship with community members after attending trauma counseling. Today, we run a smaller program for 350 former LRA combatants focused on survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (233 women & 117 men).
Current work with South Sudanese refugees: GRG shifted its focus in 2018 to use our expertise to address the new acute need in northern Uganda: the over 1 million refugees from war-torn South Sudan. Our needs assessment found that the refugees have severe trauma from the conflict, and also that there are dangerous tensions between refugees and Ugandan host communities. We developed three projects under this framework, which began in June 2018:
War trauma counseling & support: Trauma counselling for individuals, families, and groups; anti-stigmatization training; and training of peer counselors. 1,090 beneficiaries.
Sustainable livelihoods: economic empowerment through animal husbandry, organic farming, microfinance, & small business training. Three groups of beneficiaries, 30 members each.
Peace-building: Addressing conflicts between refugees and host communities through conflict resolution skills training; peace dialogues; community theater; and training of peace agents. 1,090 beneficiaries total.
Where we work
External reviews

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Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
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GRASSROOTS RECONCILIATION GROUP
Board of directorsas of 10/1/2019
Sasha Lezhnev
Marisa Bassett
Brionne Dawson
Kate Tickel
Kasper Agger
Anna-Maria Kaneff
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No