Michelle Boice: The Heartbreak of Uganda- Gulu

What and Where is Gulu? Gulu is a town located in northern Uganda. It's an epicenter of an internal civil war that has lasted over 21 years. A great synopsis of the war can be found at www.invisiblechildren.com under About and History of the War. About 20 years ago, when Uganda elected a new president, a man named Joseph Kony decided to start an opposition army (Lords Resistance Army) against the Ugandan government. He needed an army, and couldn't get a volunteers, so he began raiding the villages and taking children by force to use as soldiers. (Kill or be killed) It's estimated 90% of the army is made up of conscripted children. The raids have been ongoing for years, so kids would leave their villages at night to "commute" to safety in the local hospitals, churches, etc. The raids somewhat stopped from 2003 until now while having peace talks. But, recently peace talks have come to an unresolved end. Villages have been destroyed. People who lost everything moved to the Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDP) in Gulu. Millions of people now live in the camps at Gulu.

The people in Gulu displaced persons camps live in very poor conditions. They live in mud huts with no windows. These camps were temporary, but have become permanent because people's families are dead, they own no land or possessions, and have no job or means of supporting themselves to go back home to... so they stay. Some of the people we spoke to have been there over 9 years.

This is the water that the children are using... Yes, this IS water. There are no bathrooms, running water, electricity. The sanitation conditions are a nightmare. Keeping clean and healthy are near to impossible.

The women living in the displaced person camps of Gulu have very difficult lives. Most were fearful of sharing their stories. The women who did speak with us are NOT pictured here for safety reasons. Many have been raped, beaten, and have had family members killed in the raids by Kony. The camps are the only place left for them, but now that the peace talks have failed, they feel they may be sitting ducks. Some of the women that were raped became pregnant. They were often very young. We saw many of these child mothers. We took them clothes, soap, shoes, snacks and even gave them money, but these are temporary measures of comfort, we know. Interestingly, they asked only for two things.... First, if we could somehow find a way to help them become educated, or trained. And the second was to not forget them.