Network for Africa

Overcoming trauma, rebuilding communities

  • About
    • Network for Africa UK
    • Network for Africa USA
    • Past Achievements
    • History
    • Annual Reports and Audited Accounts
    • Strategic Plan
    • Safeguarding and Associated Policies
  • Mental Health
    • Our Approach
    • Progress So Far
    • World Mental Health Day
  • Projects
    • Rwanda
    • Sierra Leone
    • Uganda
    • Project Evaluations
    • Testimonies
  • News
  • Contact
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Support Our Work
    • Our Partners
    • London Marathon
    • Give As You Live
    • Big Give Match-Funding Campaign
    • Fundraising Ideas
    • Remember Network For Africa In Your Will
  • Donate
Home » News » Love and Sacrifice

21-Feb-2024

Love and Sacrifice

Each Valentine’s Day we are bombarded by images of romantic love. Yet, there is another form of love that isn’t often rewarded by chocolates, flowers or cards – the love and sacrifice demonstrated by caregivers. Their devotion is often needed every day, at all hours. Around the world it is a duty performed mainly by women.

The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test…
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price.

Those words come from a poem by Cecil Spring Rice, written about the sacrifice made by millions of soldiers during World War 1. It may be familiar because it was set to music by Gustav Holst, borrowing from his Jupiter movement of The Planets.

Caring For Caregivers

Not surprisingly, sacrifice is often associated with war. However, at Network for Africa we witness a less celebrated sacrifice that continues around the clock for years and even decades: caring for the physically or mentally disabled or those who are unwell.

© Simone Fior

Today, Network for Africa salutes those caregivers. Our partners in Sierra Leone (Conforti), Uganda (BNUU) and Rwanda (SURF) know that caring for someone with epilepsy or mental illness is particularly demanding. It is even more challenging when families are so poor that they struggle to survive. For this reason, our projects strive to provide the following:

– psychotherapy and trauma counselling, caring for the caregivers,
– mutual support groups where caregivers get strength from knowing they are not alone,
– training in livelihoods activities that provide an income, and
– educating the wider community to understand mental illness and epilepsy.

Observations From Caregivers

In the words of Richard from northern Uganda:

People who are caregivers can become depressed, feeling isolated.

Finally getting medication for a child with epilepsy needing constant attention made an enormous difference to his life.

Now I can go to work. Now we eat twice a day, sometimes even three times a day. I can buy malaria medicine, too.

Judgment and stigma from uninformed individuals can be hard to bear. Sarah, another caregiver in northern Uganda, describes the impact of having counselling from our partner, BNUU, and being part of a supportive group:

Even if someone tries to say something that should annoy me, I now know how to handle it. I just ignore it and move on happily.

For this reason, BNUU does continual community education to fight ignorance and superstition.

We thank our generous supporters for making this work possible. We know there are many worrying conflicts in the world today, demanding your attention. We are grateful that you are sticking with us as we offer a helping hand to people who are helping themselves. To support our work, please visit our donation page.

Filed Under: News

Make a Donation

With your financial support Network for Africa can give the counselling training needed to help resourceful and resilient community members leave the harmful legacy of conflict behind.

Donate from the UK Donate from the US

Recent News

  • Celebrating The Value Of Local Partnerships On Africa Day 23-May-2025
  • If You’re Going Through Hell, Keep Going 07-Apr-2025
  • We Are Glad You Are Unusual 14-Mar-2025
  • The Wisdom of Alice Cooper 07-Mar-2025
  • The Human Race 05-Feb-2025

Network for Africa UK

14 Saint Marys Street, Stamford
Lincolnshire PE9 2DF

Phone: 0203 951 0863
Email: information@network4africa.org

Network for Africa US

PO Box 6609
Charlottesville VA 22906

Email: information@network4africa.org

Registered Charity

Network for Africa is a charity registered in the UK - 1120932.

Network for Africa is a 501(c)(3) and our tax ID is 26-1502938.

Network for Africa is a charity registered in both the USA and the UK, but we use the spelling most commonly used in Africa on this website.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Mental Health
  • Projects
  • News
  • Support Our Work
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© Copyright 2012 - 2025 Network for Africa, all rights reserved. A web creation by LBDesign.