Update from Gulu

Today marks a week since we’ve arrived to Gulu, can I tell you it feels like a lifetime that we have been here.

Northern Uganda has suffered tremendously over the past 20 years and there is a lot to be done here. Many Northerners are glad that things are starting to go back to normal and that the threat of the LRA seems to be diminishing, but the threat still lurks in the shadow. It is no secret that the current President of Uganda (President Museveni) is no friend of the Acholi (the largest tribe in the North). He is so unpopular, 97% of the Acholi voted against him. Prior to Museveni’s rules there were term limits, but like any good man who likes to wield power, he changed that rule. The next election is in 2011, so many Acholi are waiting to see what the next election brings before they can truly feel like life can go back to normal.

Prior to the LRA’s reign of terror, children went to school, people farmed and overall lived a fairly happy life here in Northern Uganda. While the Acholi are moving back to that kind of life the past 20 years have wrecked havoc on their spirit and it is slow process to regain some sense of normalcy.

Jen has been meeting with a number of different people we have met, in order to get more of the low down on Gulu, the other NGOs working in the area, and who is meeting what needs of these people. One man told her that the kids that are now coming back to seek amnesty have been in the bush since they were 9 and some can be old as 28. I can’t even begin to imagine the deprogramming it takes to retrain a 28 year old who has been in the bush fighting a civil war with horrific guerrilla tactics. During all of this, the Acholi have insisted on giving amnesty to anyone who leaves the LRA in order to encourage more kids to come home and get on with their lives. The Acholi knew that most of these kids were abducted, brainwashed and forced to commit acts that they would not have done on their own.

Many NGOs are working on play, dance, art therapy to get through to a lot of these kids and give them a sliver of their childhood. While many of the kids we interact with smile, there are still many who don’t, whether that’s because they are shy or still recovering from the trauma they have endured it’s hard to say.

The need here is still great, but the key I believe is empowering the Acholi to rebuild and to be able to sustain themselves, but that will begin to happen at a day at a time.

While we’ve been here eating is low on the priority list, I’d say I’ve been eating easily ½ the calories I’d eat in a day in the states. Yes you do here the woo woo in my head as I anticipate getting on the scale when I get back home. Many days we are so hot, that eating lunch is not necessary, but also the availability of variety is slim. Since we’ve been here I’ve had tilapia and fries, rice and beans, vegetable curry, eggs for breakfast, and pizza with green peppers. Today at the market we did pick up some mangos, bananas and a pineapple for our Christmas celebration.

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Christmas with 13 orphans from an organization called “Home of Love”. The government insists that if the children have even a distant relative that they go back to their village for the holidays. These 13 kids have absolutely no one to go home to this holiday season. Candace and Jerry to Americans who run Home of Love have the kids with them for the next four days, while their employees have the weekend off. While the kids are essentially well behaved, that’s still a lot of children to reign in for four days. Today, we spent a few hours with them playing and I insisted on buying lunch for all of us. For 16 of us to either eat beans and posho (like a heavy cream of wheat) or beans and sweet potatoes it cost about 23 dollars. 23 dollars to feed 13 kids and 3 adults, I felt it was the least I could do today for these kids. Tomorrow we have ordered a feast from our hotel restaurant…I’m hoping we don’t make the kids sick with all of the food. We will also do finger painting, play “pin the horns” on the goat (thanks to Beth’s creative idea, along with some other fun games.

We had met these kids on Monday while we were visiting Home of Love, so it was good to see them again today and by tomorrow we will be old friends. On Monday while we were at the orphanage one of the little boys was very sick with malaria. When Candace took us back into town, we also brought Patrick with us so he could go to the clinic to receive malaria treatment. Beth offered to pay for his treatment, it ended up he had cerebral malaria which is 50% fatal if not treated within the first 48 hours. He received three drips over 2 days, the total cost of his treatment $11US. Today when we saw him, he looked 100% better, I’m so happy to report.

Yesterday, we went out to one of the camps to distribute beds, we were way out in the busy. I was walking around taking some photos and I thought to myself “holy crap I am but a speck on this earth right now, way the hell out in the bush, right now, it was an interesting feeling, to be SO remote”. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll ever be scared again being out in the woods in the states, after being so far out yesterday.

Things that I find funny and/or cute here in Acholi- land:

It is common that you always say Hello! How are you? So sometimes I start out with just saying hi and someone’s reply will be I’m fine.

Or you’ll walk into a store and they’ll say “You’re welcome”. They are so hospitable here.

Or you’ll drive down a road and kids will run from their huts running and waving saying “Byeeeeeee Byeeeeee” So stinking cute.

I’ve come to the conclusion that my feet will never be clean here, I don’t care but the other day I was looking at them and was like good Lord these suckers are dirty. I’ll take a photo one day when they are good and dirty for you all to see 

Saturday, Beth and I are heading to Murchison Falls, to go see the falls and then do a safari drive. We are staying the night there in a tent, Jen is staying here in Gulu. She says she has a lot of work to do today, but I know the truth, she doesn’t “do tent”. I’m getting excited about seeing some animals out in the wild.

It is Christmas Eve here in Gulu, for most of you it is Christmas eve morning and you are starting to meet family, prepare meals, open gifts and enjoy one another’s company. Please take a moment and be thankful. Be thankful for the following:

You were born in a free country.
You were born in a country where the food is plentiful.
You were born in a country where job and educational opportunities are limitless.
You were born in a country where if you crave chips and salsa, you hop in your car and you drive the store.
You were born in a country where you go to the sink to get a drink of water, you don’t have to walk miles to a well with your jerrycan, for a drink of water, to wash your clothes, to cook.
You were born in a country where you don’t have to stand in an ATM or bank line for 3 hours to get your Christmas money out.
You were born in a country where your brothers, sisters, parents, friends, have not been maimed, killed and forced out of their homes by rebel factions.
You were born into a country where clothes are plentiful and your closet is more than what you are wearing on your body or drying on a clothes line.

We are truly blessed.

Merry Christmas!!

Much love,


April