FACT SHEET Healing the Trauma of War with the

							                                        FACT SHEET 3

Healing the Trauma of War with the Power of the Internet: War
Child Canada’s Support of War-Affected Youth in Sierra Leone
The future of our world rests on the shoulders of the current generation of youth leaders active in
their organizations, their communities and their nation. Youth are essential members of the
international community. They have a large stake in policies and practices, and enormous roles in
sustainable development…We believe that every generation is granted new tools needed for
human development and progress for our own times. This new wave of information technologies
helps link communities and makes a positive difference. This will be an enormous opportunity to
the young people of Sierra Leone who need these communication tools to cope from the ashes of
war.
                                                                       -iEARN Sierra Leone

Brief History
Since 1991, the civil war between the Sierra Leone government and the Liberia-backed rebel
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has ravaged the country. The conflict has been characterized by
horrific brutality and widespread human rights abuses of civilians.

Children have been particularly victimized through forced conscription to the military by both
government and rebel forces. There has also been the widespread and systemic use of rape
against girls of all ages. Children are the frequent targets of appalling violence, including murder,
mutilation and torture. Although many children are forced to fight in the armed forces, many join to
escape poverty, or to find a new “family” if they have lost their relatives as a result of the conflict.
Once in the army, children are used to carry supplies, act as messengers or lookouts, or servants
for their captors. Some are forced to enter minefields to find buried explosives by steeping on
them. Sometimes children are given narcotics to reduce their resistance to fighting.

In July 1999, the warring parties signed the Lomé Peace Agreement. The UN Security Council
established the mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) to help implement the Lomé Agreement; but
despite UNAMSIL’s presence, the fighting continues.

A number of different factors contribute to the conflict in Sierra Leone including the struggle over
the country’s diamond mines, instability in neighbouring regions, widespread poverty, a culture of
impunity and widespread corruption, and the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light
weapons.

Democratic elections in May 2002 brought only relative political stability. Occasional RUF
incursions and streams of refugees fleeing the neighbouring war in Liberia threaten the peace in
Sierra Leone. These factors also undermine UNAMSIL’s efforts to disarm, demobilize and
reintegrate members of the RUF.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and the
United Nations in January 2002; this venture is part of an effort to create a more sustainable peace
by transforming the culture of impunity that has plagued Sierra Leone. The court is mandated to try
those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law
and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since 30 November 1996.

International NGOs, including War Child Canada, are working with local partners to help the people
and children of Sierra Leone to rebuild their lives following the relentless violence that they have
endured.




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Local Project Partner
War Child Canada works with local NGO partners, who know the needs and infrastructures of their
communities better than anyone else. War Child Canada has formed a partnership with iEARN
Sierra Leone for this project. iEARN Sierra Leone is a utilizes information technology and
communication tools for the rehabilitation of youth who have endured hardship from war and war’s
effects. Using computers and the Internet, teachers and youth leaders utilize information technology
as an intervention strategy, with the intent to reclaim young people’s potential as productive
citizens.

No War Zone
No War Zone (NWZ) is an international network of youth working together for peace and human
rights, and in support of war-affected youth. The network connects through a website,
www.nowarzone.org, where young people share their cultures and perspectives, learn from their
peers, access important and resources and work together to support their communities. Youth take
the knowledge and lessons learned from their online interactions and spearhead positive social
change in their schools, communities and countries.

NWZ centers have been established around the world in different schools, youth centers and
community organization. Through the NWZ network, youth who have been affected by war can
share their experiences, learn from each other’s experiences, and collaborate regionally and
internationally on initiatives to bring peace to their communities and countries.


Project Objectives
Overall:
   • To provide a Resource Centre for former child soldiers and young victims of war to receive
         an education, skills training, psychosocial rehabilitation and the support they need to begin
         to work for positive change in their communities:


Specific:
   • To provide education and skills training to young people, greatly expanding the
        opportunities available for them, and assisting them in their reintegration as productive
        members of society
   • To engage youth in trauma healing programs to assist in their healthy emotional
        development
   • To foster global understanding by providing a forum for young people to share their culture,
        history and experiences and form strong relationships with others, which will reinforce their
        healthy development
   • To engage young people in community development projects, working together to solve the
        problems they see in their communities and promoting peace
   • To provide youth with computer training, access to the Internet and e-mail, so that they can
        establish meaningful links to students from around the world
   • To involve Sierra Leonean youth in the No War Zone network, taking part in activities
        through the website and in their communities

Project Description
War Child Canada has worked closely with iEARN Sierra Leone to establish a Youth Resource
Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The centre provides education, training, psychosocial
rehabilitation and peer support to war-affected youth.

The project addresses the issues of barriers to technology and helps youth to communicate and
use information technology for a variety of purposes. Children and youth from Sierra Leone in
underprivileged communities from the eastern part of the city, who have no access and have never




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dreamt of using such facilities before, are connected with peers in different parts of the globe
through the creation of a community access centre.

Through their access to No War Zone, war-affected children and youth from Sierra Leone are able
to participate in discussion boards, post their ideas and creative work on the No War Zone studio,
as well as being able to access a wide array of communication outlets.
In the process, they build their skills in effectively using computers and the Internet, forge long-
lasting friendships among youth in countries around the world, including Canada, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Ghana.

Students have the responsibility of sharing their wartime experiences through No War Zone. In
doing so, they gain solidarity and comfort from friends across the network. The creation of this
international commonspace through the Internet allows the students to be transformed from youth
of war, to youth of peace.

Through this unique experience, students build trust and foster life-skills that allow them to share
their experiences globally, while harnessing their proactive abilities to effect local change within
their communities.




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