What about the girls?

Sometimes people (including myself in the past) forget that not all child soldiers are male. The number of girls who have been abducted in northern Uganda and other regions of conflict is astounding. When abducted they are made into sex slaves as well as fighters. Sister Hellen from an organization called Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate took me with her yesterday to visit their project location. Sister Hellen was abducted in 1994 and, unlike most, was allowed to go after a few hours. Her sister, however, was abducted in in 1990 and did not escape until 2003 having given birth to 3 children in the bush. Sister Hellen began a school in the outskirts of Gulu for the vocational training of formerly abducted women with children (but also includes other women in the community who have given birth and are unable to go to school). The stories the girls have to share are horrific. The atrocities they were forced to commit are difficult to stomach. When they were not being raped, cooking or cleaning they were sent into battle where they would sling their babies infront of their stomachs so that if they were shot from behind, the baby would live. Many of their babies are hearing impaired because their mothers had to fire riffles right next to their ears.

Many of these women are not accepted back into their communities as they are viewed as "rebels". Sister Hellen's vocational school is now building a nursery for the children and their next project will be dormatories. Sister Hellen's upbeat spirit was moving. I've met so many people who were abducted, also those who lost parents or other family members...their positive attitude, determination for peace and incredible capacity to forgive is truly inspirational. True, many horrible things have happened here. However, just as all of my previous experiences in Africa have demonstrated, hope and the human capacity to do good far surpasses the negative.