the Nile River flowing NW...
out of Lake Victoria separates...
LRA from government territory.
crossing the Nile
National park, just north
of river is gorilla territory
large male
showing authority
mother...
with child
Hotel, Gulu
Meeting World Vision staff
entering Gulu market
shows signs of productive people
and farm crops.
But not all is well:
Inhabitants of the countryside
have been herded into
crowded compounds...
too crowded to make a living
receiving less than needed food
Not shown: the thousands of children who nightly walk from outlying homes to secure, walled compounds inside Gulu to avoid being kidnapped by the LRA and forced into roles as brutal soldiers, porters, or sex slaves.
Figuring any blinding flash would only make their walk a bit harder, I took no photographs when we accompanied hundreds of 8-15 yr. olds as they walked a moonless evening along rutted roads to one of several such compounds where they sleep on plastic tarps.
clothes drying at public hospital
while inside the X-ray and
dental equipment have been unusable for years
Not shown: the private hospital we visited where, among many other tasks, they are attempting to save malnourished children. Out back are memorials for their health workers killed in the world's largest known Ebola virus outbreak, 2000-2001.
Despite threat of execution if ever re-caught by the LRA, some children and their babies have escaped, or were freed when their particular marauding rebel band was captured by government forces.
rehabilitation center for war children
sponsored by World Vision
We were welcomed by dance
They told of brutal experiences, ...of having watched or been forced to beat, stomp, or hack others to death. We saw some deformed by, yet surviving, similar but failed attempts. One can only imagine how difficult rehabilitation is for them.
Ben
Group members tried to convey our support for their struggle...
Scott
Therese
Ralph
at refugee camp just south of Nile
efforts abound
to subsist by selling
cooked food to travelers,
phone service,
and Coca Cola™.
...awaiting a bus
Links:
back to Africa journey overview
read more at World Vision
view images of Kampala.
by Frederick Ocaya Bese ocayafbese@yahoo.co.uk
the talented Rotaract we met there
who is seeking 1 or more sponsors towards
Undergraduate study in Civil Engineering
at the U of Missouri, Kansas City.
Photos taken by Rotaractors Frederick,
James and Harriet
This PWD carries on
his special tricycle his wifeand their baby on her back
going to St.Mary's Hospital at
Lacor over 5 km from Gulu Town.