Mary, a formerly abducted child-mother and her son, with Janet Shaver, the founder of New Life Center

New hope comes to women survivors in Uganda

The Ugandan government along with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) this week agreed to set up a special war crimes court in Uganda to address the most serious offenses committed by the rebels during the country's 22-year civil war, reports MNN.

Since the ceasefire went into effect in 2006, the internally displaced people (IDPs) of northern Uganda have seen improvements in their living conditions. Thousands have been able to move closer to their villages, many of which were completely destroyed. The slow rebuild has begun.

Attacks against civilians and abductions of child soldiers are becoming a memory, which is increasing the confidence in safety. But the scars of the past can still be seen.

Just over a decade ago, the LRA began abducting children as young as 7 or 8 years old. Food for the Hungry quotes statistics estimating that more than 80 percent of the LRA members are children.

The rebel group forced these children to fight and used many of the girls as "wives." As a result, many of these girls were horribly abused, and many bore children.

Some of these girls escaped, only to face rejection and discrimination in their own communities.

Food for the Hungry's Greg Forney says that's why the "New Life Center" was founded--a four-month residential holistic rehabilitation program for these former "soldiers" who are now child-mothers, and their children. "It's a safe compound that's protected and fenced off, because many of these women really are on the brink of suicide. They're very fearful. It provides them a refuge. Generally, we work with 20 to 30 women at a time and really handle the physical side of things, in terms of skills training."

Forney says their team also concentrates on spiritual healing for these survivors. "It offers very intense biblical counseling, where they walk through the trauma and ordeal of what they've experienced, from a point where they can actually ask forgiveness [for what they were forced to do]. Many of these women come to Christ during this time and literally do have a 'new life' by the time they're able to go on and assimilate into their communities."

The first group of women and their children arrived two years ago. As the landscape changes and the IDPs begin to rebuild their lives, God's faithfulness is evident. The team is overjoyed to witness what the Lord will do and is doing through the New Life Center and all the programs Food for the Hungry is blessed to carry out in Northern Uganda.

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[03/25/2008]

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