For 20 years, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing communities in northern Uganda in a brutal civil war. The area worst affected is the central region of Uganda and the surrounding regions north to the Sudanese border. An estimated 12,000 people have been killed in the violence, with many more dying from disease and malnutrition as a direct result of the conflict. More than 90% of northern Ugandans, nearly two million strong, have been displaced from their rural homes and are interned in "protected camps" established by the Ugandan government near army installations. What was intended as temporary housing has become permanent for hundreds of thousands as the conflict drags on. Crowded conditions and lack of food and sanitation facilities have rendered the camp population vulnerable to malnutrition, disease and death - many of them children. Over 1000 people are dying in these camps each week.The LRA has abducted more than 25,000 children and terrorized them at their clandestine bases into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children are routinely forced to participate in the killing of other children who attempt escape. In addition to the thousands who have been abducted, thousands more have been killed, maimed, brutalized, and used to undertake the worst atrocities imaginable, including murder, rape, theft, and the like - and often on the very communities from which the abductees originate.
Interested in helping do something about these travesties? Child Voice International is a new Christian organization (started in 2006) involved in education, advocacy and direct assistance. They would love to help you help the Ugandans. In fact, their website briefly describes "10 Things You Can Do to Make a Difference." I suggest you check it out.
