Hope Alert Network for Development & Local Empowerment (HANDLE) is a local grassroots NGO operating in northern Uganda since 2009. We work in a post-conflict setting with war-affected & vulnerable populations (including women, youth, orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS) to support them in the personal development to improve their living conditions. Our goal is to empower local populations through education and skills building to help them to overcome today's challenges and rebuild their lives and communities after the twenty-year war between the Government of Uganda and the LRA rebel army that disproportionately impacted the northern region of Uganda. We aim to assist communities in becoming active leaders and change makers to transform their lives through sustainable development and self-advocacy so that they can shape the future that they want to see and that the solutions meet these communities' unique needs. To accomplish this, we focus on the following areas: peacebuilding & conflict management, gender equality, women's economic empowerment, advocacy, education, youth engagement, and livelihood programs which are responsive to climate change.