For the last twenty two years the Acholi people have been caught in the middle of a war. You can see the effects of the war as you drive around and in the faces of the Acholi people. Ten years ago thousands of people were given 48 hours to move fr
om their villages to IDP (internally displaced people) camps for protection from the LRA. I cannot even imagine only having 48 hours to pack up all of your belongings and move to camp where they have lived for years and with no idea of when they will return home. The houses in these camps are so close together that a lot of times it is impossible to pass between them. These camps although they provide safety from the rebels are more like prison for the people. At night the UPF (Uganda People’s Force) surrounds the camp to fight off the LRA from abducting the children. In some camps people have not gone outside of the camp for years….it’s their world, the only safe place they know.
The LRA is not the only worry of the Acholi people in these IDP camps, but disease, malnutrition, and fires take thousands of lives each year. As we were talking to one of the men he said that if there were to be a serious out break of a disease in the camps it would completely
wipe out the entire Acholi people group. After visiting an IDP camp I understood what he meant. With the people living in close quarters and without proper sanitation and hygiene it would not take much for the disease to sweep through camp before anyone could receive help. Malnutrition is also a huge problem in the camps. The people receive food from the World Food Program, but it is at the bare minimum that is needed to survive. Now however the aide programs are trying to encourage people to move back home since there is “relative” peace in the area they have started reducing the amount of food given to the people. It’s hard to say, but our dogs back home eat better and more food then most of these people. One statistic that I heard was that each week 1,000 people die in these IDP camps from inhumane living conditions.
While it is becoming safer for the people to return home many fear that until Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, is caught the war will continue in some way. Also in many of the cases there is no village for them to return home to. When the rebels came through the land they would torch villages and burn them to the ground. Any remains of the villages have long been overtaken by
weeds and the “bush” so there is no village or home to return to. The LRA also planted over 3,000 land mines all over northern Uganda of which only 300 landmines have been found. Everywhere you go you see signs saying, “be careful were you step and do not touch anything that is unfamiliar.” With 2,700 landmines still at large the people fear returning to their villages. As if all this were not bad enough fires kill thousands of people each year in the camps. Since the houses are so close together and their roofs are made out of grass – when one house catches on fire it spreads like a wildfire. In one IDP camp 5,000 people died in one fire. Words and pictures cannot adequately describe the devastation and hopelessness of the people of Northern Uganda.
om their villages to IDP (internally displaced people) camps for protection from the LRA. I cannot even imagine only having 48 hours to pack up all of your belongings and move to camp where they have lived for years and with no idea of when they will return home. The houses in these camps are so close together that a lot of times it is impossible to pass between them. These camps although they provide safety from the rebels are more like prison for the people. At night the UPF (Uganda People’s Force) surrounds the camp to fight off the LRA from abducting the children. In some camps people have not gone outside of the camp for years….it’s their world, the only safe place they know.The LRA is not the only worry of the Acholi people in these IDP camps, but disease, malnutrition, and fires take thousands of lives each year. As we were talking to one of the men he said that if there were to be a serious out break of a disease in the camps it would completely
wipe out the entire Acholi people group. After visiting an IDP camp I understood what he meant. With the people living in close quarters and without proper sanitation and hygiene it would not take much for the disease to sweep through camp before anyone could receive help. Malnutrition is also a huge problem in the camps. The people receive food from the World Food Program, but it is at the bare minimum that is needed to survive. Now however the aide programs are trying to encourage people to move back home since there is “relative” peace in the area they have started reducing the amount of food given to the people. It’s hard to say, but our dogs back home eat better and more food then most of these people. One statistic that I heard was that each week 1,000 people die in these IDP camps from inhumane living conditions.While it is becoming safer for the people to return home many fear that until Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, is caught the war will continue in some way. Also in many of the cases there is no village for them to return home to. When the rebels came through the land they would torch villages and burn them to the ground. Any remains of the villages have long been overtaken by
weeds and the “bush” so there is no village or home to return to. The LRA also planted over 3,000 land mines all over northern Uganda of which only 300 landmines have been found. Everywhere you go you see signs saying, “be careful were you step and do not touch anything that is unfamiliar.” With 2,700 landmines still at large the people fear returning to their villages. As if all this were not bad enough fires kill thousands of people each year in the camps. Since the houses are so close together and their roofs are made out of grass – when one house catches on fire it spreads like a wildfire. In one IDP camp 5,000 people died in one fire. Words and pictures cannot adequately describe the devastation and hopelessness of the people of Northern Uganda.Meet Yonah a precious little boy around the age of 5. He is by far the saddest kid I have ever met. Yonah never smiled the entire time we were at the IDP camp. Most of the other children would smile and play with us, but not Yonah. As I looked into his eyes there was a saddness I 
had never seen before. The only life he knew was hardship and suffering. I asked the preacher we were working with what Yonah's story was, but Yonah would not talk. He just stood there. The only way I can describe him is "dead man walking." There was nothing alive in him other then the fact that he was breathing. I cannot imagine what he has seen with his little eyes and what his little body has endured. I wanted so much to take him home with me!! As I wrapped my arms around him I just kept telling him how special he was and how much Jesus loved him. I know that he cannot understand English, but I do know that Jesus is speaking those same words straight to his heart! This is just one story of countless other little children. Please continue to pray for the Acholi people of Northern Uganda - for peace, for safety, and for salvation of souls!
had never seen before. The only life he knew was hardship and suffering. I asked the preacher we were working with what Yonah's story was, but Yonah would not talk. He just stood there. The only way I can describe him is "dead man walking." There was nothing alive in him other then the fact that he was breathing. I cannot imagine what he has seen with his little eyes and what his little body has endured. I wanted so much to take him home with me!! As I wrapped my arms around him I just kept telling him how special he was and how much Jesus loved him. I know that he cannot understand English, but I do know that Jesus is speaking those same words straight to his heart! This is just one story of countless other little children. Please continue to pray for the Acholi people of Northern Uganda - for peace, for safety, and for salvation of souls! 
