Uganda: Catholic Sisters Offer Trauma Care to Refugees

Sister Linah Siabana, a mental health specialist with the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, serves displaced South Sudanese communities in Uganda’s Arua Diocese.

As part of her congregation’s mission to be “a healing and consoling presence,” she brings care, education, and hope to some of the world’s most neglected refugees.

For the past five years, Sr. Linah has worked in settlements near the South Sudan border, helping rebuild lives uprooted by conflict.

Uganda, hosting nearly 1.7 million refugees, is praised for its open-door policy. But chronic underfunding, overcrowding, and policy changes by aid agencies have strained the system.

“The settlements here are filled with women, children, and elderly people who have lost everything,” says Sr. Linah. Adjumani District alone shelters over 54,000 refugees.

“Families are falling through the cracks,” she warns.

Sr. Linah arrived in 2019. In 2022, she led a year-long needs assessment in Maaji and Agojo settlements, working with local leaders and learning local languages to understand residents’ struggles.

She uncovered widespread trauma, disrupted education, and fragile coexistence between refugees and host communities.

In response, she secured scholarships, launched vocational training, and organized therapy sessions.

“Spiritual care rebuilds resilience,” she says. “It helps refugees process loss, find purpose, and reconnect with hope.”

On Sundays, she led communion services under a mango tree for those unable to reach a church.

When food rations were cut, her team distributed emergency supplies to child-headed households and elders with disabilities.

In a dim tent, Sr. Linah kneels beside a woman who hasn’t slept in weeks. “The nightmares won’t stop,” the refugee whispers.

“It’s not just the war they’re fleeing,” Sr. Linah says. “It’s the daily stress of survival here.”

As the team’s mental health lead, she addresses emotional wounds from abandonment, hunger, and isolation.

A recent UNHCR policy change excluded some refugees from food lists, worsening conditions. “When we provide basics like food, suicide rates drop. It’s that simple,” she says.

Working with the Refugee Welfare Council, Sr. Linah identifies vulnerable families through home visits.

“They’re grateful just to be seen,” she says. “One elderly woman told me, ‘You remind me I’m still human.’”

Tensions persist between ethnic groups and with host communities.

“We’re not just aid workers; we’re mediators,” Sr. Linah explains. Her team fosters peace through dialogue, though needs outpace available resources and partnerships.

Beyond the camps, Sr. Linah mentors young religious sisters in Adjumani Vicariate, offering workshops on mental health and spiritual formation.

“Young religious sisters crave guidance, but trained counselors are scarce,” she says. Travel challenges and limited infrastructure complicate the work, but she remains committed. “Every encounter is holy ground, a chance to reflect Christ’s love.”

For Sr. Linah, the mission is personal. “We walk with refugees and see Jesus in their suffering,” she says.

“The challenges, the hunger, the tears, rekindle our purpose: to heal, console, and rekindle hope.”

As the world’s attention drifts away, her message remains urgent: “These are not numbers. They are mothers, children, elders, people worthy of dignity. We cannot look away.”