Finemind

Background Statement

The center of Finemind’s efforts has been the Agago District in Uganda. It is an area that has suffered from years of civil war, genocide, refugee migration, humanitarian crisis and the AIDS epidemic, which has resulted in deep inter-generational trauma. In fact, the year the war ended, a study found that northern Uganda had the highest rate of post-traumatic stress (54%) and depression (67%) ever recorded among displaced and conflict-affected populations anywhere in the world. Even more shocking, it found that women were twice as likely to show symptoms of PTSD and four times as likely to have symptoms of depression. All these circumstances are linked in a vicious cycle with issues of poverty, poor education, inadequate healthcare and broken family structures. The people of Agago are continuing to face difficulties due to insufficient basic services and limited support. Finemind operates from the premise that rebuilding community-wide mental health will lead to greater agency in the community, i.e. stronger, more capable individuals and families and eventually prosperous, thriving communities.