A letter from Resolve Uganda.

Dear Invisible Children supporters,

I just wanted to follow up on last week’s Global NGO Statement and again say thank you. We are still awaiting news about the Ri-Kwangba meeting of northern Ugandan leaders and the mediator with Joseph Kony, which was reportedly delayed at least one day. Yet, regardless of what happens, I think we together made a strong stand of principles, and even more importantly, a stand of solidarity with those who continue working tirelessly to salvage the peace process in its many parts.

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A letter from Resolve Uganda.

Dear Invisible Children supporters,

Yesterday, more than 30 humanitarian, faith-based and advocacy organizations from around the world united in a statement of support for efforts to salvage northern Uganda’s peace process and to declare that there is still hope for peace in Uganda.

And today, I’m asking you to add your name to that impressive list .

Local leaders from northern Uganda, who have worked tirelessly to achieve peace for their people, will be trekking back into the jungle this weekend, perhaps for the last time, to meet with LRA leader Joseph Kony. They’ll be trying to convince him to sign onto the final peace agreement that would formally end Uganda’s 22-year war.

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Invisible Children has never been about the numbers in Uganda. We are about the people, the individuals, and how we can have the greatest impact on their lives and their personal stories so that they, in turn, can have the greatest effect on their communities and their country. IC has very intentionally invested in the few with the greatest potential, so we can unquestionably say that it’s not about numbers in Uganda.

BUT, if it was…this is what it would look like:

-690 secondary school students receiving scholarships from across Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, and Pader; each with a Ugandan mentor, being given the opportunity and guidance needed to become the next leaders

-60 university students receiving scholarships in Uganda (as of fall ‘08), 40 girls and 20 guys from impoverished communities, who are also receiving the academic advising necessary to succeed and transform their lives and those around them

-1 university student in the US. She will be attending Boise State in the Fall ‘08 to pilot international scholarships.

-179 bracelet makers, trained in savings and investment, supporting their families and reinvesting their money into programs that stimulate economic growth in their communities

-10 child mothers making handbags, soon to be trained in savings and investment, supporting their families and rising out of extreme poverty

-90 staff members, each giving back to their community while simultaneously earning a great income to support their entire families.

That’s a total of 1,030 people whose lives will never be the same. Read more »

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Gulu, Uganda: the expected day of Kony’s signing.

The weather completely reflects the feelings of this small town of seven paved roads. Like ocean against sky, the mood of Gulu seems to mirror the atmosphere that hovers above it. Dark clouds, ominous and foretelling hardly allow the pink streaks of sunrise to push through. Against the howling storm of 22 years of terror, Acholi people manage to preserve the slightest bit of hope for this day. With timid anticipation, they rise for their 8,030th day of war - the day that could mark the end.

An older woman in her 60s walks toward town, her shoulders drawn down by a heavy bag carried around her neck. Asked about the day, she strains to lift her tired head. Through deep wrinkles, her eyes stand out in brilliant, youthful excitement. “This day is historic for Acholi Land,” she replies with glitter swimming in her eyes. “It is time. Time to go back to our land, resume our life and farm again” she says as her eyes wade out into memory past today’s tide of misery. Read more »

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Here’s the IC press release; here’s how it went down:

Today, a press conference was held to announce the selected student that would receive a scholarship to attend Boise State. Temperatures rose as students, parents and press gathered in IC’s meeting room. The fans weren’t operational due to a broken switch (it’s in logistics pipe line). Geoffrey Howard built the suspense with a detailed explanation of the scholarship, the Kelly family and IC’s participation. Temperatures continued to rise, students began to fan themselves. Geoffrey handed over the announcing of the congratulatory to Houston. “Thank you all again for coming” said Houston. “It is my pleasure to announce Acii Nancy…BAM, she passes out cold. Everyone stares in an awkward state of disbelief.

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Before leaving for Uganda in February, several of my co-workers in Minnesota had joked about the snow following me to Gulu. If they had to deal with it, how come I should be lucky enough to get away? I laughed and brushed it off as a silly comment – it would never snow in the middle of Uganda.

Yet after being here for just over a month now, I’ve been reminded that the perceptions we entertain about how a new experience will transpire or what a foreign place will be like aren’t always correct. Could it ever snow on Kampala Road? Will going to northern Uganda be scary? Will I succeed in the tasks I’m responsible for? Will there be enough toilet paper?

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A couple of weeks ago, we gave you a look at the official opening of the Gulu High girl’s dormitory in northern Uganda. The building was a direct result of everyones hard work on the Schools for Schools campaign. To say thank you, our staff in Uganda created a video documenting the girls, as they moved their belongings into the beautiful building that our S4S students helped build for them

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For our second installment of Perspectives on Peace and the War, Apio Maurine, a Researcher with Invisible Children in Uganda, talks about her experiences in secondary school at St. Mary’s College in Aboke - the school that was made famous in 1996 when 139 students were abducted by the LRA.

It all started when I was a young girl in primary school. My cousin was a student at St. Mary’s College in Aboke, an all-girls boarding school under private ownership. I had a strong desire to study at this great school, so I worked hard to join. In October 1996, a year before I joined the school, the LRA rebels abducted a number of students from the dormitories. About 109 came back, but 30 were taken as captives to Sudan. The rebels promised to come back to the school and take more students.

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There’s no other way to put it than to say that on Friday, a dream became a reality. After what began as the vision of both the Schools for Schools team and Gulu High School, the new girl’s dormitory was officially opened by Honorable Gabriel Opio, the Minister of State for Higher Education.

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To compliment the weekly Peace and Conflict Updates, we’ve developed a new series from Uganda that will appear on the IC blog - Perspectives on Peace and the War. Through blog posts that are written by both western and Ugandan staff, this series will highlight a wide range of topics - from stories about growing up in the midst of conflict in northern Uganda to thoughts on the return and resettlement process. As conversations about these issues are ongoing at the IC office in Uganda, we hope you’ll join in on the discussion as well.

For our first installment - and to coincide with the recent commencement of the peace talks in Juba - Houston Shearon weighs in on the nature of peace in light of the complexity of the conflict in northern Uganda. Read more »

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