Mission Statement

Ageno Puodho means "Hope Garden" in the Acholi language spoken in Mucwini, Uganda. Ageno Puodho seeks to create a safe environment for young trauma victims in Mucwini to recover, grow and learn valuable life skills. Through the medium of horticultural therapy, the project aims to insill hope, as well as giving the children a sense of responsibility and control over their personal growth. Focuses of the project include interpersonal communication and group cohesiveness. The youth involved in the project will be both male and female and will range in age from 11 to 18 years old.

Ageno Puodho is a division of the organization Horticultural Therapy for Youth. Established in 2002,Horticultural Therapy for Youth is a non-profit organization specializing in therapeutic culture for youth struggling with mental and physical ailments. The organization is committed to helping youth maximize their full potential and contribute to their communities through active engagement. Past projects include:
In 2004-2005, Horticulture for Youth established a community garden with inner-city teams from Hamilton, Ontario.
In 2006, the organization implemented a tree planting project with impoverished families in Camden, New Jersey, in effort to improve the quality of air.

An Introduction to Horticultural Therapy

Horticultural therapy is a branch of recreational therapy. Rather than traditional medical or psychiatric treatment, the patient performs recreational activities to improve their mental and physical health. In the case of horticultural therapy gardening and planting are used as part of the healing process. Since time immemorial, nature has been an integral aspect of to cultural tradition. Scientists have coined the phrase "bophilia", meaning an innate affinity for nature and a sense of satisfaction from being surrounded by living things. As a result of biophilia, patients have been known to heal more effectively when they are surrounded by plants and living things. Being able to take care of a plant and see it grow, being able to see its strength and resilience, makes the patient feel as if they too will be able to heal and grow.

Welcome to Mucwini

The Mucwini Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp is located in the Kitgum region of Northern Uganda. On July 23-24, 2002 the camp was ravaged by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), in what is now termed the "Mucwini Massacre". 56 men, women and children were murdered.

Although the camp is no longer under threat, the individuals in Mucwini have suffered an terrible ordeal in addition to the existing trauma of being displaced, impoverished, malnourished and without a proper home. Since Mucwini has high percentages of youth and elderly populations, Horticultural Therapy for Youth has decided to address the trauma sufferd by the youngest members of the camp community. The Ageno Puodho project seeks to aid youth trauma victims in overcoming their psychological ailments through the use of horticultural therapy. Mucwini has relatively fertile soil and adequate rainfall, making the project feasible.

Project Objectives

General:
To provide support to youth in overcoming trauma in IDP camps, fostering transferrable skills applicable to work and home.

Specific:
1) Have youth show a 70% improvement in psychological well-being through Horticultural Therapy
2) Help youth learn agricultural skills that they’ve missed out on from being in IDP camp
3) Create a long lasting mentorship program

Abundant Rewards: The Benefits of Horticultural Therapy

There are many benefits of horticultural therapy as it pertains to this project. Firstly, the project takes a holistic approach. Ageno Puodo demonstrates concern for the patient as whole, rather than just addressing the disease or primary symptoms. Horticultural therapy also opperates within internal and external contexts. The youth trauma victims are exposed to a broader environment which encourages socialization, brings enjoyment, develops specific skill sets (farming) and improves self-esteem. Additionaly, the project relates health to fulfillment and creative lifestyles; the patients learn how to maintain long term satisfaction and a good quality of life. Overall, the youth will learn new life skills and will be aided in overcoming their trauma, so that they will be able to function independently in society.

Why is THIS Project Unique, Effective (and Better)?

Comparable projects that have been previously taken place have had several major issues that the Ageno Puodho project will seek to rectify. Firstly, projects such as the Food For the Hungry have imported lots of foreign ideas and have not managed to engage Ugandans in any leadership role. In addition to importing western values, projects such as these have emphasized religion, whereas this project will be strictly secular. This project will also be targeting an entire vulnerable demographic, youth, rather than focusing on a narrow range of a gender.

Also instead of only focusing on job skills, this project also contains an integral horticultural therapy aspect. This means the Ugandan youth will gain the skills to create a livelihood but also be mentally prepared to be productive members of society by helping them heal from their trauma. Although projects such as NAADS by the Ugandan Government are admirable, they fail to address other issues youth face and consequently would not completely prepare youth for society.

The youth involved in the project have primarily grown up in refugee and IDP camps, so they have failed to learn traditional gardening methods and will not be able to easily adapt to an agricultural lifestyle when they move out of the IDP camps. This project is unique because it addresses the issues of psychological trauma, role in society, food and job skills. Furthermore, instead of importing any western methods into this project, it will be led by Ugandans farmers and the skills being taught will be traditional Ugandan ones. The Canadian team will simply be facilitating the process and ensuring it runs smoothly and effectively.

Duration

The Ageno Puodho project will formally last for two years, however, the members of the community should be able to sustain it on their own past this point. The first 3 months will be dedicated to necessary preparations. The next 6 month phase will take place during the growing season (from March to September). This will be when the actual on-the-ground work will take place. After gradually phasing out the involvement of the Canadian portion of the team, a mentorship program will begin that will run throughout the dry season. Over the next year team members will return periodically to assess and aid with the project.