Healing Beyond Words: How Mental Health and Psychosocial Support are Restoring Dignity for GBV Survivors in Uganda’s Refugee Settlements

At the women and girls’ centre in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement, 23-year-old Lilian Dawa sits quietly among a circle of women. Her voice is soft, but her story carries weight far beyond her years.

“I got married at 17,” she says, looking down. “It wasn’t love. I needed pads. I needed school fees. I had no choice.”

Originally from South Sudan, Lilian arrived in Uganda at just 15, fleeing conflict and clinging to her older sister for support. But survival proved tougher than she imagined. Faced with poverty, hunger, and no path back to school, she accepted marriage as her only option.

“At first, he gave me everything money, care, promises,” she recalls. “But when he lost his job, he changed. He started blaming me for everything. Then the beatings began.”

For years, Lilian endured the violence quietly-until a neighbour invited her to a community dialogue held nearby. That conversation, focused on stress management, lit a spark. “That day, I felt lighter,” she says. “I knew I wanted more of that feeling.”

She followed the path to the local women’s centre, where she was referred to a support group run by Transcultural Psychosocial Organization -TPO Uganda under the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Joint Programme, funded by the European Union and the Government of the Netherlands. The centre is supported by UNHCR in partnership with Spotlight Initiative implementing partners - TPO, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

For five weeks, Lilian took part in talk therapy sessions with other women who, like her, carried invisible wounds. “Before, when my husband refused to give me something, I would cry and shout. He would beat me. But now, I breathe. I stay calm. I have peace.”

That inner peace has blossomed outward. With a small contribution from her husband and a new sense of purpose, Lilian started her business. She now makes about 30,000 shillings a week. “I can buy food. I can buy things for my children. I can support at home.”

Her voice grows stronger as she speaks. “I want other girls to know when you feel stressed, tell someone. Don’t keep it inside.”

The Breaking Point and the Breakthrough

For Mary Keji, now 21, the breaking point came when she seriously contemplated ending her life. Married off at 16, her days were consumed by beatings and hunger. “He’d come home and demand food. But he never left anything behind. If I failed, he’d beat me. I asked myself-why am I even alive?”

When she left the marriage and returned to her parents, the situation worsened. There was no food, no income, no future.

But a friend led her to the local safe space. Through therapy sessions and support from TPO Uganda, Mary learned how to cope with trauma, reclaim her dignity, and revive her dreams. With support from Spotlight initiative, she was able restart her handmade shoe business.

That business, and her participation in the programme, led to something even greater: a chance to return to school. Now in Senior Two at Yangani Secondary School under an accelerated education programme for young mothers, Mary balances classes, motherhood, and business with courage. “We were told in therapy get going and keep going. That’s what I do every day.”

Little Girls with Big Dreams

In Imvepi Refugee Settlement, 15-year-old Amina, a pupil in Primary Six, beams as she shows off a clay sculpture of a truck she molded during a talk therapy session. It represents her dream to become Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda.

“I used to cry a lot when I missed my father. He died in the war. My mother can’t afford school fees. I dropped out. But the sessions taught me that life has both good and bad, and we must stay strong,” she says.

Amina is part of a growing number of adolescent girls supported through the Journey of Life model, by the Spotlight Initiative 2.0 Joint Programme which uses storytelling, art, and reflection to address the trauma and build emotional resilience in young refugees.

At Lanya Primary School, 14-year-oldZahra says she no longer hides when something goes wrong. “I used to be shy. Now I speak. I smile. I feel better.”

These girls, and dozens like them, are part of a youth-led healing movement spreading across the settlements. Many of them now use their groups not only to talk about their feelings but to support each other academically and socially.

“They’ve created their own support system,” says Hawa Nanteza, a social worker at TPO Uganda. “They read together. They counsel each other. They stay away from bad groups. Their grades are improving, and so is their confidence.”

Healing in Numbers, One Story at a Time

Under the Spotlight Initiative 2.0, over 77,000 children and youth in and out of schools across 17 districts have been reached with programmes -equitable norms, attitudes and behaviors and psychosocial well-being. In Bidibidi, Imvepi, and Rhino Camp, safe spaces have supported thousands through: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) talk therapy and trauma counselling; Life skills and livelihoods support; Accelerated education for young mothers; Community dialogues and anti-GBV clubs; Creative arts and storytelling therapy for children.

Psychologist Nancy Muja, who works closely with survivors like Mary, says the results are deeply moving. “When they come in, they are closed. But by the end of the sessions, they’re smiling, dreaming, creating again. They speak freely. That’s healing.”

And yet, challenges remain. Food insecurity remains a major stressor, especially for category three refugees no longer receiving regular food rations. Therapy spaces are limited, and stigma still keeps many especially men away from services.

But progress is undeniable. From handmade shoes to schoolbooks, from deep breaths to molded clay, survivors are rebuilding their lives one small act of healing at a time.

“If you’ve never been displaced, you can’t know how stressful it is,” says Olivier Irakoze Regional Project Coordinator, TPO Uganda. “But when someone gets better, we all get stronger.” Because when silence breaks, healing begins.

The numbers are impressive, but the most powerful evidence lies in the changed lives: the young woman who now breathes through her stress instead of fighting, the girl who molded a dream into clay, the mother who chose life and now gives life a second chance.

Note: “Names of minors have been changed to protect their identity.”