 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ECM--Hope for the forgotten children of Africa |
|
|
|
About ECM
What You Can Do
Contact ECM |
|
|
|
Every Child Ministries Rebuilding Lives of Ugandan Children Devasted by War |
|
|
|
|
|
The Invisible Children - The Tragedy in Uganda |
|
|
|
|
|
For 20 years, the northern par of our beloved Uganda has been one of the most dangerous places on earth to be a child. There, a man named Joseph Kony and his commandoes have wreaked havoc on an entire generation of our children. Claiming to receive his directions from angels, one of whom was associated with Idi Amin, Kony has named his guerilla troops the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The "lord"; he serves is certainly not the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one is clear who or what he is resisting. He sometimes claims to be fighting to bring down the Ugandan government of Museveni and sometimes claims to be fighting for the Acholi tribesmen of the north who were neglected under colonial rule. The truth is, he has just as often been found attacking the Acholi as anyone else. His attacks have shown no discernible pattern of reason and can only be described as brutal and devastating. Over the past 20 years, the LRA has kidnapped about 30,000 children in northern Uganda and brainwashed them, training them to become child soldiers to capture, maim and kill others. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kony's main generals are almost all children kidnapped and trained by his forces. Coercing a child to become a combat soldier is bad enough. Kony's tactics have gone well beyond that. To break the children's bonds with family and society and to tie their consciences and their hopes to him alone, Kony usually forced children to kill or maim family members or other kidnapped children soon after capture. He then told them that since they had done such atrocious things, they could never be forgiven or accepted again by society. Their only hope was now with him. Kidnapped children were marched for a week or more without food into his training camps in southern Sudan. Denied water, many dropped in their tracks like rotten fruit. Others to survive were forced to drink muddy ground water or urine in order to survive. There they were trained to shoot, cut off lips, noses and limbs, and to accept the word of their commanders without question. They were then sent out to spread the kind of terror they had themselves experienced. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
His forces usually struck at night in small, unprotected villages, so for years it has been unsafe for any child in northern Uganda to sleep with his family. Tens of thousands of children became "night commuters," walking for hours into towns. The fortunate ones crowd into shelters provided by Christian and humanitarian agencies, where they lay back-to -back like sardines in a can. Some of the agencies enclosed their shelters with razor wire and provided armed guards, so great was the danger even in the towns.. Those unfortunate enough not to find shelter still considered themselves blessed to sleep on the street. There, many of them were subject to theft, beating, and rape, but none of those fates were as bad as being inducted into the LRA. These "night commuters" have been called "invisible children," because when night fell, they seemed to appear in droves in the cities, as if from nowhere. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
But the tragedy our children have experienced does not end with the child soldiers or the night commuters. Most of the children of the north (90%) were forced into IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps for protection from the marauding bands of the LRA. Two whole generations were unable to attend school. Food, sanitation and medical facilities were woefully inadequate. Cramped together with nothing to do, sin abounded in the camps. There were many abuses by the soldiers. The IDP camps were dismal breeding grounds for disease. Our people felt alone and deserted. Many turned away from God in the heat of the suffering. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Churches and missionaries in the north have worked hard to help, but the need is so staggering that they have become overwhelmed and exhausted. Today, there is a great openness and a great need for Gospel work in the camps. Recent developments show that the intense and united prayer and fasting efforts of Ugandan Christians are yielding results in spiritual breakthroughs. It has been reported that Kony's mother and several of his top generals have recently come to Christ, and Kony himself seems to be on the run, hiding out somewhere in eastern Congo. The number of night commuters has steadily decreased,, and now with the recent peace accord, some sense of security is beginning to be restored to the north. Now, the hard job starts--rebuilding a nation so devastated. We believe that only Jesus Christ can offer hope for situations like these, but He is abundantly able! |
|
|
|
In the midst of all this, in 2006 Every Child Ministries International committed to join hands with our Ugandan churches and communities in rebuilding the broken lives of our children and in strengthening this generation of youth in anticipation of a brighter future for Uganda. |
|
|
|
During October-November 2006, an international training team consisting of Lorella Rouster, Hazel Hermosillo and Sharon Aldrich conducted two seminars to train children's teachers. One was held in the Mukono District just east of Kampala, the capital city, and another in Gulu, to train Christian teachers now ministering in the IDP camps as well as the churches of the city. Then in July 2007, another international team of six joined with our Ugandan teachers to launch direct ministry projects to children in the Kamwokya slum area of Kampala and in the Tegotatoo IDP camp of the Gulu District in the north They began with a Day Camp including Bible stories, recreational and educational activities, and at Tegotatoo, lunch and first aid. About 300 children attended in each place. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
These teams also helped launch sponsorship programs in both places to allow orphans and other very needy children to attend school and to receive other help such as supplemental nutrition and spiritual guidance. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In 2007 and 2008, teams have continued ministering at the Tegotatoo IDP camp as well as the Kamwokya slum area. Day Camps and First Aid Clinics have brought joy to many. Sponsorship programs have begun in both areas to provide scholarship assistance , practical and spiritual help to needy children.
HELPING ALBINO CHILDREN--
Realizing that albino children are often ostracized out of fear and that society does not understand their condition, ECM in 2008 initiated a project to help albino children by offering them free sunglasses (since their eyes are extremely and painfully sensitive to light). We also plan a public education & awareness program to help parents, teachers and the community at large accept albino children and help them to make the most of their lives.
|
|
|
|
Watch for reports coming soon on:
ECM's fast-developing orphan sponsorship projects
ECM's plans for helping with the resettlement process
|
|
|
|
Pray that God may heal the children of Uganda. |
|
|
^TOP |
|
|
|
|