Earlier this month, Pastors Greg and Kristin Evans and I took a Go Global planning trip to Gulu, Uganda. It was tough to see the extreme poverty, illness, and malnutrition. However, I'm excited about our church partnering with Watoto to bring hope and restoration to this community. The following is a history of the war and a summary of what we saw.
For nearly 20 years, the people of Gulu suffered the devastating effects of a civil war. Joseph Kony led the Lords Resistance Army in a rebellion against the government. As people grew weary of the war, Kony and his commanders resorted to abducting and brainwashing children to be killing machines. More than 30,000 children were forced to be child soldiers, making up 80% of the LRA. To escape abduction, many children left their homes in the villages and slept under verandas in the city. The Uganda Government required people to relocate from their rural homes to IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps for protection from the LRA.
Though relative peace began over 1 year ago, devastation remains. Child abductees return, without a place to go and knowing only how to fight. Girls as young as 12 years of age return as mothers and live in fear their 'husbands' will return to claim them. An estimated 1 million people still live in IDP Camps. At these camps, we saw evidence of malnutrition, illness, unsanitary conditions, and extreme poverty. People in the IDP camps carry the highest rate of HIV infection in all of Uganda (18% according to a World Vision Survey). Still children ran to us with waving hands and smiling faces, older children carrying their infant siblings. Many of them know nothing else other than life in an IDP camp where promiscuity, drunkenness, and child abuse are common. The government encourages IDP inhabitants to return to their villages, however, many do not have a home or know where they came from. An estimated 90,000 orphans live in the area of Gulu. An alarming 80% of Central High School students in Gulu tested positive for HIV.
Still there is hope. The answer is a local church reaching out, empowering, educating, and rehabilitating the people with the love of Christ. In 1992, Kampala Pentacostal Church (KPC) began Watoto ministries to house, educate, and build up parentless children in a Christ-centered environment to become leaders in Uganda. In addition to multiple campuses in Kampala, KPC planted a church in Gulu in August of this year. The church already has 1,000 members and plans to expand the Watoto ministry there with a reception/rehab center and villages for these war-effected children. KPC also plans to partner with other ministries such as a vocational school for young mothers, another Christian church, and elementary school. Exciting transformation is already occurring. We (Go Global) will be partnering with KPC and Watoto in Gulu next year. Through the local church and global partnership, these children will find their worth in Christ and learn to love a life of peace.
Though relative peace began over 1 year ago, devastation remains. Child abductees return, without a place to go and knowing only how to fight. Girls as young as 12 years of age return as mothers and live in fear their 'husbands' will return to claim them. An estimated 1 million people still live in IDP Camps. At these camps, we saw evidence of malnutrition, illness, unsanitary conditions, and extreme poverty. People in the IDP camps carry the highest rate of HIV infection in all of Uganda (18% according to a World Vision Survey). Still children ran to us with waving hands and smiling faces, older children carrying their infant siblings. Many of them know nothing else other than life in an IDP camp where promiscuity, drunkenness, and child abuse are common. The government encourages IDP inhabitants to return to their villages, however, many do not have a home or know where they came from. An estimated 90,000 orphans live in the area of Gulu. An alarming 80% of Central High School students in Gulu tested positive for HIV.
Still there is hope. The answer is a local church reaching out, empowering, educating, and rehabilitating the people with the love of Christ. In 1992, Kampala Pentacostal Church (KPC) began Watoto ministries to house, educate, and build up parentless children in a Christ-centered environment to become leaders in Uganda. In addition to multiple campuses in Kampala, KPC planted a church in Gulu in August of this year. The church already has 1,000 members and plans to expand the Watoto ministry there with a reception/rehab center and villages for these war-effected children. KPC also plans to partner with other ministries such as a vocational school for young mothers, another Christian church, and elementary school. Exciting transformation is already occurring. We (Go Global) will be partnering with KPC and Watoto in Gulu next year. Through the local church and global partnership, these children will find their worth in Christ and learn to love a life of peace.
A family of orphans and house mother in Bbira, a Watoto village and Bullrushes, the Watoto baby home in Kampala, Uganda. 
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