Every Child Ministries Reaching Children Devastated by War

The Invisible Children -- The Tragedy in Uganda

For 20 years, northern 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 children.  Joseph Kony can only be described as one of the worst incarnations of evil the earth has seen.  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 claims to be fighting to bring down the Ugandan government of Museveni and 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.

The LRA has kidnapped about 30,000 children in northern Uganda.  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 go well beyond that.  To toughen up the children, break their bonds with family and society, and to tie their consciences and their hopes to him alone, Kony usually forces children to kill or maim family members or other kidnapped children soon after capture.  He then tells them that since they have done such atrocious things, they can never be forgiven or accepted again by society.  Their only hope is now with him.  Kidnapped children are marched for a week or more without food into his training camps in southern Sudan.  Denied water, they are forced to drink muddy ground water or urine in order to survive.  There they are trained to shoot, cut off lips, noses and limbs, and to accept the word of their commanders without question.  They are then sent out to spread the kind of terror they themselves experienced.

His forces usually strike at night in small villages, so for years it has been unsafe for any child in northern Uganda to sleep with his family.  Tens of thousands of children have been "night commuting", walking for hours into towns.  The fortunate ones crowd into shelters provided by Christian and humanitarian agencies, where they lie back to back like sardines in a can.  Some of the agencies have enclosed their shelters with razor wire and provide armed guards.  The unfortunate children have to sleep on the street.  There, many of them are subject to theft, beating, and rape, but none of these are as bad as being inducted into the LRA.  These "night commuters" have been called "invisible children" because when night falls, they seem to appear in droves in the cities, as if from nowhere.

There are thirty IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in the Gulu District alone in northern Uganda, remnants of long years of war in Sudan and in eastern DR Congo.  Missionaries there are overwhelmed and exhausted.  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 may be 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 significantly decreased this year, and 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, and He is abundantly able!

In the midst of all this, ECM has committed to working there.  This was the result of a three-week fact-finding mission completed in October and early November 2006.  On Dec. 1, the Board voted to commit ECM to Ugandan children who have been robbed of a future.  It's bound to be tough and challenging work, but we can only believe that in places that have known so much pain, "grace does much more abound."

This project touches children in two other areas close to our hearts--1)  children of Sudan, who have been brutally chased from their homes by government of their own country, simply because they are Christian and black, and 2) children of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  ECM began work in the western part of their country in 1985.  Recent word is that Joseph Kony and his evil LRA are now in the Congo.  That country has already been devastated by a long war.  The last thing in the world Congolese children need is Joseph Kony and the LRA.  Please pray with us!  We believe that during our trip in October and November, God is going to show us how we can all help these children!

During October-November 2006, 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 capitol city, and another in Gulu, to train Christian teachers now ministering in the IDP camps.

God Had a Leader Waiting for Us

One of the great needs in developing the Uganda work is a reliable leader.  God had one waiting for us.  It was very evident to all concerned that God had His hand on David Lubaale to help ECM get started in Uganda.  He know has been named Coordinator for the Uganda-Sudan area.  David's expertise includes a degree in management and a Master's in Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution from Daystar Christian University in Kenya, his experience working as an inspector for the United Nations in several East African countries, and the experience gained from taking orphans into his own home and in establishing and operating a Preschool for orphans.

The Board approved this ten-point plan for Uganda and Sudan:

1. Every Child Ministries commits itself to develop ministry in Uganda and Sudan.
   
2. ECM names David Lubaale as National Director or Coordinator for Uganda and Sudan.
   
3. Next February David Lubaale will be coming to CA to receive his master’s degree.  After his graduation, ECM will bring him to our International Mission Central base in IN and take responsibility for him for up to three months.  During that time he will endeavor to raise his personal support and ministry expenses to serve as ECM’s national director in Uganda.  He will be available to speak at churches and in homes.
   
4. ECM will immediately begin to seek missionary candidates for all feasible areas of children’s ministry in Uganda.  Each candidate will raise ministry funds, including salaries of national workers, for the projects with which he or she is affiliated. Short termers would also contribute to the projects.
   
5. As soon as we have long-term candidates for the north, an area headquarters will be established in Gulu. The office would be maintained by the contributions of missionaries, long and short term.
   
6. Our first area of emphasis will be the one of the IDP camps that has been most neglected because it is well off the main road--the Tegotatoo (say Teh goh tah tor) camp.  We aim to make it regular—at least weekly if possible, with personal visitation of families as well as a children’s Bible club.  We aim to emphasize spiritual needs first and educational needs of children second. As soon as possible, we aim to also include the production and sale of artifacts as an income-generating activity.
   
7. Sudan (southern or "New Sudan" will be targeted for teacher training seminars in the near future, as soon as a team willing to "camp" can be found. There is no need, nor is it feasible, to establish a separate identity in Sudan at this time.  Ministry in Sudan can easily be done through Uganda. There are, however, no hotels in Sudan. Thus the need for "camping."
   
8. The idea of forgiveness is an immense need in Ugandan society and needs to be seriously explored and in-depth teaching developed and discussed at every opportunity so that bitterness over past tragedies will not grow into acts that could bring more tragedies in the future.
   
9. Until we can be certain that the peace will hold, we recommend that missionary families with children stay in the south. They can train children’s workers, have a hospitality or R&R ministry to those serving in the north, and minister to a group of refugees who fled to Kampala because of the war and now live in terrible conditions in the Kamwokye slum area of the city (say Kah-moh-chay).

Here's how you can get involved--

1.  Pray!  Specifically for these points:

• Wisdom and guidance from God in all the planning and in every decision made.
• Safety for ECM's Uganda Director David Lubaale.
• Good, effective contacts in Uganda and effective networking amongst God's people.
• That God's plan of action for ECM will continue to unfold.
• Needed finances.
• Missionary recruits, especially one year or longer.

2.  Give!

• Support a Ugandan orphan.  Sponsorship is only $30 a month.  Your help will provide educational assistance, medical care, supplemental nutrition, spiritual guidance and regular Bible teaching.

3.  Go!

• If God is laying this work on your heart, if you are single or married without children, if you are strong and committed, please consider going to help.  Get in touch with us and let us get acquainted with you now.  Married couples with children can serve in the southern part of the country where they can train national leaders, have a hospitality to those coming into the country along with an R&R ministry to refresh those serving in the former war zone, and minister in the city slums where many displaced people from the war are now living.

To give to this project, click here and designate "Uganda"

To contact ECM about possible service in Uganda, click here.

To return to the ECM home page, click here.

To request ECM's quarterly magazine, AFRICAN JEWELS, click here and send us your name and address (US addresses only).

Visit ECM Uganda's National Homepage. (Takes you off site.  Come back soon!)