Peter C. Alderman Foundation Announces Opening of New Mental Health Clinic in Uganda
BEDFORD, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--U.S.-based Peter C. Alderman Foundation (PCAF), a non-profit organization that trains doctors to heal the psychological wounds of war and terrorism, will open a new clinic in Gulu, Uganda in January 2008. The new clinic is the second PCAF Clinic in Uganda dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment and counseling of people suffering from mental trauma. The announcement was made in New York by Stephen and Elizabeth Alderman, co-founders of the Foundation that is named after their youngest son Peter, who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Gulu is a province in Northern Uganda with a population of 120,000 residents and the site of internally displaced persons camps which house more than 1 million internees. It is located about 110 miles north of the Ugandan capital of Kampala. The clinic there will represent the first sustainable psychiatric service for victims in war-torn Northern Uganda. Doctors and caregivers will treat diseases caused by mass violence and terrorism: psycho-trauma, traumatic depression, PTSD and anxiety syndromes. The clinic opening also marks the opportunity for the PCAF to operate on the frontlines of post-conflict regions and at the same time gather data on the treatment of highly traumatized Ugandans. "This clinic will serve as a lifeline for an increased number of Ugandans suffering from psychological trauma and marks the first true test of our unique clinic model and our private/public partnership with the government, the academic community and the churches," said Stephen Alderman, co-founder of PCAF. "It is the second leg of a three phase program to help heal the mental wounds of all survivors in this war-torn country." Uganda has suffered through four decades of war, and has experienced human rights abuses and terrorism. The regime of Idi Amin alone was responsible for some 300,000 deaths. Currently, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), an extremist rebel group based in Sudan, has abducted over 25,000 children. 1.7 million people in northern Uganda have been displaced because of the 20-year war in Gulu and Kitgum. About the Peter C. Alderman Foundation Steve, Liz and sister Jane Alderman and brother Jeffrey Alderman created the Foundation in 2002 to honor Peter who was murdered in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The Foundation has mounted a global effort to help train in-country doctors and caregivers with the skills needed to treat psycho-trauma, depression and the overall mental health of the survivors of mass violence, war and terrorism. Currently, the Foundation has trained 35 doctors who work in 12 post-conflict countries, across four continents. Fifty-five thousand war-affected people have been treated in PCAF clinics and by PCAF-trained personnel. The Foundation was recently cited by Geneva Global in Barron's Weekly as one of the ten best organizations in America that epitomizes thoughtful and effective giving. For more information, please visit petercaldermanfoundation.org. Padilla Speer Beardsley Tony Berlin, 212-752-8338 tberlin@psbpr.com Copyright Business Wire 2008
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