Thursday, April 12, 2007

Gulu, Uganda


Gulu is now behind us. The sounds of crashing waves in Durban, South Africa are a roaring reminder that we are no longer in the land-locked country of Uganda. But Uganda is not far from our minds.


For the last 20 years, more than 1.5 million people in northern Uganda have been displaced from their homes due to ongoing violence. The majority of these people are still living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, many never having known any other home.



The Invisible Children Bracelet Campaign promotes economic development in these impoverished camps by hiring men and women within them to create bracelets, which are then packaged and sold in the U.S. Each bracelet is accompanied by one of eight DVD’s telling the story of a child and the difficulties he or she has faced growing up in northern Uganda. We had the privilege of meeting with some of these bracelet makers, each chosen for various degrees of vulnerability in their lives. Many of the workers are widows, returnees (former child soldiers), or men and women with disabilities as a direct result of the war. They greeted us with beaming smiles and asked when we were coming back.


Also working closely within camps, The Salvation Army is laboring to set up Early Child Development (ECD) programs in 72 different IDP camps throughout northern Uganda. Women and children are said to make up more than 80% of the IDP camp population, and this was apparent as we walked through endless rows of thatch-roofed huts. The children seemed to come from everywhere to follow the “munos,” a term essentially (and affectionately) meaning “whitey.” As we walked to inspect the foundation of one of Salvation Army’s ECD centers, we were soon enveloped by a sea of curious children, who stared at us with wide eyes and bravely reached out for our hands.



The following day Invisible Children took us to Gulu High School, the pilot school for their initiative called Schools for Schools, in which U.S. high school students organize and implement fundraisers to benefit Ugandan schools. Currently, the Gulu High School girl’s dormitory houses 50 girls per room. As we walked into the dormitory filled with typical, animated teenage girls, we were startled by the image of this statistic staring us in the eyes. (Most of us thought living with one roomate in college had its challenges; can you imagine living with 49!) Fifty girls in one room is made possible by triple bunk beds stacked inches apart from one another, their clothes hanging on wire clotheslines above their heads. The Schools for Schools initiative has received enough funding to build the first story of a new girl’s dormitory, which will reduce the average to 12 girls per room. They are currently in the process of construction, for which the girls could not be more thankful.


Invisible Children would like to add an additional floor to this dormitory, which would allow them to transfer all of the girls to the new building. The school would then also be able to accept 200 additional female students to Gulu High School. Currently, the female student population is only 30% of the student body, due to space limitations. Adding this second floor, which will cost $90,000, will not only help move current students to less cramped quarters, but will give others the much needed opportunity for education. When we asked the girls what they thought of the new dormitory underway, built by funds raised by American students their age, among shouts of anticipation, one student responded with a girlish grin: “So they like us, then?”



It was two full days of seeming incongruities—so many difficult sites to take in and yet so many joyful and welcoming people. The stories are heart breaking and the injustice palpable. There are none untouched by the years of violence and political unrest. But the people are not without hope, and the fire we witnessed in a small few who want desperately to see change for people of northern Uganda is something we can only hope to flame.


TIA

5 comments:

jane said...

I'm so excited for you both! The pictures are wonderful! They take me back...Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

I'm praying for you and Africa!!

jane said...

I'm so excited for you guys! The pictures take me back...Can't wait to hear all about your adventures! I'm praying for you and for Africa!

Michael said...

Hey. guys! Just thinking of you both way over there. I think everyone here in Naples is sick of hearing about what you are doing in Africa and are ready for me to head back to Georgia.

At times we all feel that people don't notice or are not interested. Sometimes people are just listening in their hearts as opposed to beating drums aloud. Tonight, a small group of people in the middle of 1000 others had a special prayer for you guys. It was quite a shock to me because I had only mentioned it to the few I had been working with during the past days events.

That said, just know that what you both are doing is very important and you have support in places that you may never be aware of. You are always in our hearts and prayers.

The world is changed by each of us making a difference when we can. You two are doing that.

Michael

Michael said...

Hey. guys! Just thinking of you both way over there. I think everyone here in Naples is sick of hearing about what you are doing in Africa and are ready for me to head back to Georgia.

At times we all feel that people don't notice or are not interested. Sometimes people are just listening in their hearts as opposed to beating drums aloud. Tonight, a small group of people in the middle of 1000 others had a special prayer for you guys. It was quite a shock to me because I had only mentioned it to the few I had been working with during the past days events.

That said, just know that what you both are doing is very important and you have support in places that you may never be aware of. You are always in our hearts and prayers.

The world is changed by each of us making a difference when we can. You two are doing that.

Michael

Virgil said...

You two are doing great work for HaShem and it is very encouraging to me to read your blog. I am very impressed by the work that everyone at RZIM, Wellspring, and another organization called Voice of the Martyrs is doing. Never underestimate the impact you are having on the people in the places that you go and the impact on everyone who reads about what you two are doing. Peace to both of you and remember that all of your brothers and sisters are praying for you.