north to Gulu

I will admit this entry is long, and relatively boring, but I request you read all the way through anyways because its historical implications mean a lot to me. Thanks!

This week we returned from a long weekend in Gulu. For anyone not familiar with their Ugandan history (ok, everyone who reads this), Gulu is in northern Uganda and has been stricken with major violence for the past 20 years. If you have seen Invisible Children, then you should be familiar with Gulu and the Acholi Tribe. If you haven’t seen the documentary, I recommend seeing it as soon as possible! It’s a great quick history lesson about the war between the LRA rebels and the Ugandan government, and also gives you a glimpse into the lives of the types of people I get to work with every day. They are fascinating.

So as a rundown, the LRA tried to overthrow the Ugandan government for over 20 years (violence has just barely slowed down in the past 2 years) and most of the fighting took place in the north. The LRA killed thousands, displaced almost a million people, and abducted over a quarter of a million children from their homes. The LRA came into villages in the middle of the night, ransacked the homes, stole the children, and burned and killed whatever was left. The stolen children were then used as child soldiers to perpetuate their rebel groups, or as 2nd and 3rd wives for the existing army. Kids were taken into the bush, brainwashed through incredible violence, and then used on the front lines against the government troops.

Everyone feared the rebels, so most people outside of the actual city of Gulu moved to refugee camps surrounding the city. As I said earlier, almost a million people were displaced in a matter of just a few years. Even there, many were not safe because the rebels would come light the refugee huts on fire and abduct children from there. This is where the concept of night commuting emerged. Every night, children from all over the area would walk into Gulu to seek refuge at a nearby hospital where they could actually by protected by fences and the army. Many of them would walk 10-20 km every night and again every morning so they could feel safe. In other words, thousands of children walked as far as 15 miles every night to go sleep in the dirty corridors of a hospital, bundled together like sardines, because they knew that if they stayed home with their families, they may not survive. WHAT A TRAGEDY. For further clarification, watch Invisible Children!!!

So moving on, the point of this little history lesson is so you understand WHAT Gulu is, and WHY we went there. I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go. Friday morning we caught a bus and rode all day and got to Gulu super late. Betty, a member of the Ugandan Parliament, arranged everything and let us sleep at her guest house and stay with her family. Her family is so fantastic! It was definitely one of my favorite parts of being up there. Our purpose was to go teach business seminars in the refugee camps (most people still live in the refugee camps, even though the LRA has backed down a bit). Part of our group also went to build an adobe stove with a women’s group in the area so they can learn how to make them in the future.

We spent all day Saturday and Monday teaching the business classes (Ashley R, Brent, Seren, and I were in this group) and I think they went really well. We taught groups of about 15 at a time, and they were so interesting and intelligent. Most of them don’t speak English (don’t worry, we had a translator), and a lot of them are not literate, but they still listened intently and had a lot of great input. I think it would be fascinating to teach the same business concepts I taught to a high school, or even intro level college class, and listen to the type of reactions they provide. When you ask about business ideas that Ugandans might have, you get answers like selling produce, buying cows to sell milk, fishing and selling the catches, and raising goats. It’s like a whole different world here, but I love it. Many of the people there with women who brought their little babies and kids with them, and I love just watching how much they love their kids. You see the stress in many of their faces... concern over how they will feed them tomorrow, will they survive the year, will they catch malaria or HIV, will they have a real future or will they be stuck in the refugee camps forever? All these questions run through my mind continually, and you can see it wear on the mothers’ faces. Yet despite it all, they were still gracious and kind to us, remained humorous in their discussions, and laughed at us as we tried to learn the Acholi dances. Driving through the camps again on our way out left my mind wandering, wondering what it would be like to live in such a life. Hundreds of hundreds of teeny grass huts, filled with as many as 10 people each, spaced merely a meter or so apart. Many have been living there for over a decade, some even two.

On the way to the camps and back on both Saturday and Monday, our friends (Betty’s kids) Annette, Maria, and David told us stories about the IDP camps, about Gulu just a few years ago, and about what it was like to fear the LRA. I feel like most of what they shared is too personal to just broadcast in a blog, but I would love to discuss it with anyone after I get home if they would like 

Sunday we went to the Gulu LDS Branch in the morning, toured the city, ate at an amazzzing little café, went and toured Lacor Hospital (where the night commuters walked to every night), and then just read and visited.

I am beyond grateful that the turmoil with the LRA has lightened, but the war is still not over. Most of the LRA has fled to southern Sudan, but the destruction and havoc left behind is still very apparent. Luckily the city is rampant with NGOs and government aid groups that are investing time and money into the region. There is still a lot of progress to be made and I think it will continually improve over time. Fortunately, the Acholi people have a lot of spirit and a lot of hope for the future. I am glad I decided to go (despite the intense bus rides in both directions) and glad I got to make such amazing friends in such a short period of time. Betty’s family is fantastic, the food all weekend was great, and the experiences I had within the refugee camps will remain with me forever.