Gulu

Tuesday morning we packed up and bounced (literally) up to Gulu. Gulu was about an "hour" away (Uganda Time), so it took us about 2 hours to get there from Chobe Lodge. We visited the Gulu Watoto Children Village briefly, but got the feeling that this is another very special place. Watoto is taking care of 168 children so far in this village, but it is growing quickly. This is where Watoto plans to have most of its growth in the years to come.

The Northern Uganda area (including Gulu) is recovering from years of war lead by the rebel outfit the Lord's Resistance Army. This rebel group is run by Joseph Kony, who is a self-declared prophet. For years the LRA attacked villages, killing, raping, and abducting children to be soldiers in their group. Many many unspeakable things have happened in the Region. Uganda was finally able to kick the LRA out of Uganda in 2005, however Joseph Kony still continues to wreak havoc on innocent civilians in the Congo and Central Africa Republic. This is a situation that needs lot of prayer, since it mostly goes unreported because of the lack of communications in this remote area.

Seeing how Watoto is helping this area to heal and rebuild is nothing short of inspiring and life changing. After visiting the village, we stopped at the local Watoto church. This church is growing rapid with over 1,000 attending each weekend. Then our group broke up and some visited Living Hope in Gulu. Living Hope is a program that Watoto started in 2008 and it focuses on working with women who have AIDS or are in need of help. This program takes them in and teaches them skills and trades so they can go out in the world and make a living. I went with the group that visited the brand new Babies Home in Gulu. What a sight this was! This new amazing facility is home to 20 babies currently. Watoto is also trying to purchase a large compound that has buildings that could be dorms and a school. Their plan is to make this into a Rehabilitation Facility for the children soldiers that are rescued from the LRA or that come out of the bush on their own. Please pray that they can purchase this much needed facility.

As we drove through Gulu we could see the IDP Camps (Internally Displaced Person). These are the camps that people flee to during the war when the LRA would attack their villages. The country has been trying to get the people living the the IDP camps to move back to their home villages for 2 years now. Some have gone home, but others are still too afraid to go back to their villages. The camps are made up of small mud huts with grass roofs.

Our short visit to Gulu ended with lunch at the Watoto Guesthouse. This is where teams stay when they are building in Gulu. This is a beautiful place, and I know I will be returning since I now have the opportunity to sponsor a 10 year old boy named Richard who lives in Gulu.

Brynn