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Caution, Children at War
 | The Crisis in Northern Uganda |
For more than 20 years, “the Lord’s Resistance Army” (LRA)
has been battling the Government of Uganda (GOU) .
The war has created a humanitarian disaster,
leaving generations of children in crisis.
Overview of the Crisis
Through decades of conflict, northern Uganda's civilian population has been terrorized by LRA rebels who cut off the hands, ears, or lips of individuals suspected of sympathizing with the government. The LRA also uses spiritual rituals as a weapon to psychologically enslave both abducted children and the targeted population with fear.
Children are abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers. | The nature and duration of the conflict have created tremendous humanitarian, social, and economic costs for all of Uganda, particularly for children. The protection of children has not been a priority for governments, despite national and international laws guaranteeing their basic rights.
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According to the United Nations, the conflict as resulted in the displacement of an estimated 1.7 million people. Forced into displacement camps, these people are unable to farm due to war and international food assistance is inadequate. Illness is rampant because the country is too insecure for humanitarian aid agencies or the Ugandan government to provide regular health services.
However, according the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, improved security has allowed more than 513,000 internally displaced persons to return to their home villages, and some 429,000 others have resettled in new sites or moved closer to their areas of origin.
Children Suffer the Most
LRA leader Joseph Kony has created his army primarily through the violent abduction and forced enlistment of children. Nearly 25,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA, and forced to be laborers, frontline soldiers and, in the case of girls, sexual slaves.
GuluWalk participants took to the streets to urge the world to support peace in northern Uganda. World Vision supports the GuluWalk. This year, the GuluWalk is set to take place on October 20. | | To abduct children for their army, the LRA would attack villages and displacement camps. Because the camps are not secure, parents felt that they had no other choice but to send their children to walk ("commute") for several miles to the nearest town, where it may be safer.
The number of night commuters soared to more than 25,000 in 2002. But the count has dropped from 15,000 in May 2006 to less than 500 in March 2007. The decrease is attributed to the improved security situation related to the ongoing peace talks. |
Although there are signs of improved security, without a final peace agreement, northern Uganda's people will never be guaranteed a life free of brutal conflict.World Vision's Work in Uganda
A boy at World Vision's Children of War Center draws a picture of his home the way he remembers it
before he was kidnapped . | World Vision began working in Uganda in 1986 to help improve the quality of life for Uganda's most impoverished people. More than 112,000 Ugandan children are sponsored by World Vision supporters around the world.
Learn about World Vision's work in Uganda, particularly among the children and families that are deeply affected by this crisis. |
What You Can Do
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1-888-511-6548 : P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063-9716
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Who Is World Vision? World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
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Pray for the children and families trapped in the middle of this conflict.