Northern Uganda

Greetings from Kampala ... after 2 weeks in the north we arrived back in Kampala today. I have a new appreciation for running water, electricity, and air conditioning! The trip was educational and depressing at the same time.

Northern Uganda has been a war zone since 1987 when the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony, started an armed rebellion against the Government of Uganda in an effort to establish a theocratic state based on the 10 Commandments and Acholi tradition. A search on Wikipedia says that "the LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including mutilation, torture, rape, the abduction of civilians, the use of child soldiers and a number of massacres." A cease-fire was agreed to a few years ago and many international organizations have flooded the region with money to help rebuild services and provide basic humanitarian needs for the internally displaced people (IDP).

What's interesting about this region right now is that it's in transition. Many of the IDP's are leaving the camps and either, creating satellite camps somewhere between the original camp and their former homes, or returning to the land where they used to live. I learned a lot about the history and the people of northern Uganda during this trip. They have experienced a lot of pain and have witnessed things that nobody should every have to see. However, while these experiences may handicap many, for the most part, the people I met and talked with are looking toward the future with some hope. The Acholi people have a tradition of forgiveness and it seems like they are truly taking that to heart.

Here are some pictures of huts and people in the IDP camps that I visited:

Huts in a transition IDP camp

IDP Camp Leader and kids and mothers from the camp Cooking inside the hut - the picture isn't cloudy ... it's the smoke from the stove

A variety of grains and beans available at the camp

Kids playing on one of the camp's water pumps

I was able to take an overnight trip to a national park called Murchison Falls. At the falls the waters of the Victoria Nile are forced through a narrow gap in the rock about 20 ft wide. The river drops 400 ft in three separate cascades and flows westward into Lake Albert. Here's a photo of the falls:

After visiting the falls we drove around the park and saw a number of animals:

Leopard

Ugandan Kob

Hippo

Giraffes

Elephant

Crane

Lion cub

So, that's it for now. There are lots of stories and more pictures to share. I'll be home at the end of this week and look forward to seeing many of you soon!

Love,

Alisia