Thursday

We left early Thursday morning at 6am to head to northern Uganda to visit Gulu. I was feeling pretty nervous about what we were going to see. The bus ride took about 6 hours. It was pretty agonizing because of the horrid roads. Pretty much the entire way there was on uneven roads that were unpaved with lots of holes. I can't get over how horrible and unmaintained the roads in this country are. I definitely take for granted the means of transportation in the US. Anyway, after we arrived in Gulu we headed to an IDP camp. IDP stands for internally displaced people. It was heartbreaking to be there. The conditions in these camps are absolutely atrocious. I can't believe how bad they still are after all the peace talks and lowered threats. I saw children literally without clothes, human waste in the open, no clean water, tiny huts for homes. It's shocking to see how little these people have and how much support they are not receiving. It was an extremely overwhelming event. What was shocking was how happy these kids were. It's amazing how so much as a smile or an extended hand can light up a child's face. They ask for nothing from us. They are just overjoyed with our presence and attention given to them. I will never forget the Gulu children's smiling faces.
We also visited with young women who were part of a group called Child Mothers Ministry. These women were all raped and impregnated by rebel soldiers, mostly between the ages of 16-28. Some of them shared their stories with us. It's so hard to comprehend how these women have the courage to carry on with their lives in a positive manner after such horrid things have happened to them.





























After visiting the IDP camp, we returned to our guest house for dinner and group reflections. During the reflection, my fellow team member, Lee, said he wanted to stay at St. Mary's Hospital overnight. For anyone who has seen the documentary, Invisible Children, this is the hospital it was filmed at. Hundreds of kids would flock to this area each night to sleep in order to avoid abduction during the night and forced into being child soldiers. I volunteered to go with along with Andy. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Us three walked around the area and talked to people about their previous encounters there. Most of the people thought we were crazy Americans and couldn't understand why we'd ever want to sleep outside when we didn't have to. It was not a threatening situation, however, because of recent peace talks in Uganda. For the most part, the country is not in a state of danger, but this does not keep people from going there to sleep each night. We also visited some of th e child patients in the hospital. We were later offered straw mats to lay on the cement to sleep on. Although it was cold and uncomfortable, I would not change this experience for anything. I am so happy I was able to visit Gulu and see all these things I've heard about for myself.