For children living and working on the streets, a meal provides immediate relief. However, being heard, supported and connected to appropriate services and opportunities can begin creating a pathway towards lasting change.

On 13 August 2026, LR Media Initiative partnered with Counsel Richard Oceng, a lawyer from the Acholi Sub-region, to reach street-connected children and young people in Gulu City under the message: “You Are Loved.”

Counsel Oceng initiated the idea of providing a shared lunch where the children could eat together and experience care, dignity and belonging. LR Media built on this compassionate gesture by incorporating Psychological First Aid, facilitated group sessions, individual counselling where appropriate, recreation and opportunities for the participants to share their experiences and aspirations.

The outreach contributed to several LR Media Initiative’s Community Impact programmes:

• Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Child Protection: promoting dignity, protection and responsive support for vulnerable children.
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support: providing a safe and supportive space for listening, Psychological First Aid and counselling.
• Youth Empowerment and Substance Abuse Prevention: raising awareness of substance-use risks and recognising the participants’ potential for recovery and productive lives.
• Education and Lifelong Learning: identifying aspirations for school reintegration, vocational training and practical skills development.

This integrated approach supports LR Media’s mission of using community engagement and responsible storytelling to educate, amplify vulnerable voices and promote practical and sustainable change.

Direct Results and Immediate Outcomes

A total of 98 street-connected children and young people participated in the outreach and benefited from the shared meal, psychosocial engagement, recreation and facilitated conversations.

The discussions created space for participants to share challenges including food insecurity, unsafe accommodation, family separation, limited access to education and healthcare, emotional distress, violence, injuries and substance use.

They also expressed aspirations to return to school, acquire vocational skills, access healthcare, reconnect safely with their families and find stable places to live. These insights helped identify priority areas for future support and reinforced an important lesson: vulnerability should never be mistaken for lack of potential.

From Immediate Relief to Sustainable Action

The outreach provided an immediate experience of care, psychosocial support and belonging. However, LR Media Initiative recognises that one activity cannot resolve the interconnected challenges facing street-connected children and young people.

Longer-term impact will require coordinated support from government institutions, child-protection and mental-health professionals, schools, vocational institutions, healthcare providers, civil society organisations, the private sector and community leaders.

Depending on each participant’s circumstances, practical follow-up may include:

• Continued psychosocial and mental-health support.
• Healthcare, substance-use prevention, treatment and referrals.
• Education, school reintegration and vocational training.
• Child protection, safe family tracing and reunification.
• Livelihood support and appropriate shelter services.

Future progress should be measured through practical results such as the number of participants referred to services, reunited safely with families, enrolled in education or skills training, accessing healthcare or rehabilitation support, and progressing towards safer and more stable living conditions.

Responsible Storytelling for Continued Impact

LR Media documented the outreach to support learning, awareness and advocacy. Any content involving vulnerable children will be handled with appropriate consent, safeguarding, privacy and dignity.

The stories and lessons generated can help shift public understanding from judgement to compassion and encourage institutions and communities to respond to the person and circumstances behind street-connected behaviour.

Partnership for Lasting Change

The partnership between Counsel Richard Oceng and LR Media Initiative demonstrated how a compassionate individual gesture can be strengthened through provision of other much needed support, such as the psychosocial engagement, documentation and community learning.

The “You Are Loved” outreach should not end with one successful day. LR Media welcomes partners committed to transforming temporary relief into coordinated pathways towards safety, dignity, education, recovery, opportunity, belonging and hope.

Every Story Counts. Every Life Matters.