kitgum | uganda
Kitgum district is in the northern part of Uganda. It is located between Longitude 320E, and 340E, Latitude 020N and 040 N. It is bordered by the Republic of Sudan in the North, Kotido District in the East, Pader District in the South and Gulu District in the Northwest. Kitgum is almost exclusively an agricultural district. The land available for subsistence farming In Kitgum is 3,200 sq. km, producing mainly food crops such as beans, pigeon peas, millet, simsim, cassava and sorghum. Cash crops grown in Kitgum are cotton, rice, maize and tobacco. 53,103 hectares are forest reserves, which belong to both the Central government and the district. Most animals in Kitgum were rustled away during the insurgency. At the moment there are 3,946 indigenous and only 35 exotic (crossed) heads of cattle in Kitgum.
‘Kitgum is located sixty miles to the south of the Sudanese border. It has been ravaged by a civil war for the last twenty years, thanks largely to the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army).You can feel the pain and suffering that the war has caused wherever you go in Kitgum. The children were to afraid to sleep in the villages where they
might be kidnapped and be forcibly recruited in the LRA. They walked many kilometers every day to the relative safety of the night shelters. Most adults lived in the IDP camps (Internally Displaced People). Their own villages are either too unsafe or just not there: the mud brick huts are just too easy to burn down. We heard many stories of people perishing in mud-huts set alight by the LRA.’
This is an extract from a journal from 2006, since then peace has come to the area with the LRA chased out of Uganda and Sudan. However the ravages of war are still apparent in the stories of the people and children you meet. For an Australian woman: General Gradma Irene Gleeson as they call her, not only live through but achieve so much in the last 19 years is more than extraordinary. Her story is an epic tale in itself, yet her heart is for the people and especially for the children who have gone to Hell and back in the past few years.
Creating not only a safe house or a place of rest, but a place of restoration and hope, working with the children to enable them to reach to their full potential, and if there was no opportunities for their skills to be used elsewhere she has developed the opportunities for them to excel. As part of the endeavour to make this happen Feed the Hungry support the feeding program for the school, which is a significant task as they use 8 tons of Rice, maze and beans every week, to feed over 8,000 children through the 5 different schools they run in the area.
The Schools program has been extended by developing A technical college for the youth to learn building skills, carpentry, metalwork, tailoring and even a driving school, whilst also developing creative opportunities for the young people to express themselves through painting, dance, music, and rap. Guns for guitars is one of those
programs helping child soldiers get over there traumatic experience of being forced into war and being able to release their energy in a positive way. Seeing Hakiim teach rap and dance moves to the younger kids was exquisite, and standing in front of 15ft high murals painted by Everest Otto was extraordinary.
All this would not be possible without your support, as there is no government funding ( though this is becoming closer: please pray for a breakthrough ) or very little from the family members or clans to support Childcare at Kitgum. Feed the Hungry are proud to support the work at Kitgum and look forward to supporting Irene And her team, as we see how a pound here can make such a huge impact 4,500 miles away.
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