(See slideshow at top right.)
My first two weeks in country found me on the road north, to Gulu area where the Lord's Resistance Army had been reeking havoc for over twenty years. Thirty thousand abductions to supply Cony's army with adult and child soldiers have fueled nightmares for years. People left their villages and farm lands to be concentrated together in community camps the government said it would protect. Except, the soldiers were often housed in the center of the village, leaving the raids to hit the villagers and protect the army instead. Children were sent walking every night to nearby Gulu to sleep on the street and anywhere there was shelter, because it was safer than remaining in the camps at night. These "night trains" returned in daylight to the huts in camps.
Gradually, the threat has receded in the last two years, but the tremendous job of rebuilding lives has just begun. How do you return to land you've left a generation ago? How do you welcome back and forgive neighbors who were forced to commit the acts that cost you family members? How do you give back humanity to those forced to do inhuman things?
A generation of being confined to camps and powerless without their traditional roles has left the men pretty focused on alcohol. The women have had to pull it all together, both to find food and funds for supplies and schooling fees for their children. There is tremendous heart and effort in a local cooperative of women's income generating projects. Each is led by a handful of women, who teach each other how to manage and produce products or services. A handful of retired civil servants are volunteering to guide them in this community development effort. But it is born of their own will to survive.
I traveled with Kampala resident Cory Harris and her daughter, both working on PhDs. The mom's degree is on "Extraordinary Ordinary Women" and she was connected to this local non profit group called WOUGNet (Women of Uganda Network). While the official USAID contingency met with local leaders, we were given our own private tour of these programs, visiting 12 different sites (forestry, fish farms, dairy produce, bakery...all on a nano scale). At each stop, women danced and sang and greeted us, complete with an explanation and tour of their project and a handout of what they are doing and what they need to achieve the next step. At end of the day, there was a huge festival and meal and entertainment to show hospitality for our visit.
Over 300 project sites affect 18,000 individuals in the northern Gulu area. This is real community development, by the community members themselves. They are below the radar screen of most NGOs and foreign assistance. But I don't think it gets any purer than this.
I've posted some mini slide shows to show some of the projects. It was a wonderful introduction to the bounce back of the human spirit and possibilities worth supporting.
