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![Caution, Children at War. The Crisis in Northern Uganda]( "Caution, Children at War. The Crisis in Northern Uganda")
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For more than 19 years, the rebel group "the Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) has been battling the Government of Uganda (GOU) for political power; the war has created a humanitarian disaster that has left generations of children in crisis. |
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Overview of the Crisis![]()
In 1987, Joseph Kony started a movement to overthrow the government of Uganda. The movement came to be known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
![Children are abducted to become Soldiers]( "Children are abducted to become soldiers") Children are abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers. |
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Civilians are terrorized in attacks by the LRA.
If individuals are suspected of sympathizing with the government, the LRA uses brutal tactics such as cutting off of hands, ears or lips, to intimidate them.
Kony creates his army primarily through the violent abduction and forced enlistment of children. Children are used as soldiers, laborers and, in the case of girls, sexual slaves. More than 20,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA.
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The United Nations estimates that more than 1.6 million people have been forced from their homes, into displacement camps. These people are unable to farm due to war and international food assistance is inadequate. Illness is rampant because the country is too insecure for humanitarian aid agencies or the Ugandan government to provide regular health services.
To make matters worse, the LRA attacks displacement camps to abduct children. Because the camps are not secure, parents often feel that they have no other choice but to send their children to walk ("commute") for several miles to the nearest town, where it may be safer.
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It is estimated that every night, more than 50,000 children travel to seek safety. On their journey, the children sleep out in the open, unprotected from the LRA or others who want to kidnap them. |
A boy at World Vision's Children of War Center in northern Uganda draws a picture of his home the way he remembers it before he was kidnapped. |
World Vision began working in Uganda in 1986 to help improve the quality of life for Uganda's most impoverished people. There are currently 64,639 sponsored children in the country and over 40 programs. Learn about World Vision's work in Uganda.
What You Can Do
![]() Take Action! Send a message to your members of Congress and the President, asking them to help protect the people of Uganda and bring an end to the conflict. You can help end this crisis!
![]() Pray for the children and families trapped in the middle of this conflict.
![]() Read Pawns of Politics: Children, Conflict and Peace in Northern Uganda
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for a deeper look at this crisis.(58 pages, PDF)
The report documents the impact of the war, including the historical legacies and spiritual dimensions that sustain the conflict, and sets forth recommendations to end the crisis.
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![]() Make a donation to help care for children who were child
soldiers.
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