Tuesday, December 18, 2012

An Entire Generation of Parents Missing in Uganda

The little I know about Uganda can be summarized in a few lines and it is alarming.  Uganda is a poor country that has been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic.  There are over 2.3 million AIDS orphans in Uganda. On top of that, there is a rebel group known as the Lords Resistance Army that has terrorized Ugandans for the last twenty years.  The group is led by Joseph Kony, who is the number one wanted man in the world for crimes against humanity.  Kony and the LRA have been abducting, killing, and displacing civilians since 1987.  Shockingly, estimates are 80% of the soldiers in Kony's army are abducted children.




The AIDS epidemic, the LRA's and the extreme poverty have been devastating to Uganda.  I actually read someone stating there is an entire generation of parents missing.  The end result is children end up living with relatives who can't take care of them or end up alone.  Young, able-bodied Ugandans living in extreme poverty often end up mixed in the market of illegal drugs or prostitution, thus perpetuating the AIDS cycle.

Where sin abounds grace abounds.  I keep on finding story after story of people moved to do something about Uganda.  I am hopeful big changes are taking place there.  God is clearly at work in Uganda.  I feel so blessed to be able to go there and help in whatever manner I can.  My main objective is to show a few of these kids that someone cares about them, enough to travel there and spend time with them.

We are so blessed to live in the US.  Most of us have been raised by loving parents.  I keep on trying to explain to Graciela and Elianna how blessed we all are.  I want them to know there are kids in other countries living in extreme poverty who are hungry who haven't experienced love.  I do love hearing Graciela and Elianna pray for kids in Uganda.  I should record their prayers one of these days.



More about Joseph Kony.  I found this youtube video of a US wide movement to capture Kony.  See  Kony 2012.

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