Children in a northern Uganda camp for displaced persons. From umc.org
The civil war in Uganda is largely ignored by mainstream press, but has taken a horrible toll on the nation's children. Rev. Stan Cardwell, Associate Pastor of Bel Air United Methodist Church in Bel Air, Maryland, is doing what he can to change that.
For 22 years, the LRA, or "Lord's Resistance Army," has battled the government in northern Uganda, using children as soldiers. An estimated 30,000 to 38,000 children have been abducted and conscripted into the LRA, serving mostly to carry equipment and as fodder for bullets in the ongoing conflict. As much as ninety percent of the LRA's troops consisted of children.
While negotiations are finally underway to stop the conflict, the war has left nearly 2 million Ugandans displaced, living in camps where they are subjected to horrific conditions and are barely able to survive. It has also left behind a generation of citizens who have never known peace in their country.
During a mission trip to the African country, Cardwell and his wife met many former child soldiers and spent time with them. As they learned more about the predicament these children faced and are still facing, they decided to take the steps necessary to make one of them family. Moved by their growing relationship with one boy in particular, they have started the process to become in legal guardian. Joe, also known as Lazarus, will join the Cardwells and their three children in the fall if all goes according to plan.
The Cardwells' efforts have also led their Bel Air church to sponsor other former child soldiers through a program called Active Blessing, the ministry which brought them to Uganda in the first place. Their efforts have brought more attention to the horrors these children have faced, and have helped provide help and healing.
In addition to the efforts of the Cardwells, the Bel Air UMC, and Active Blessing, additional work is occurring through invisiblechildren.com. The predicament has also become wider-known through the work of a variety of celebrities who have actively brought much-needed attention to the situation in Uganda.
SOURCES
Couple saves former Ugandan child soldier by Melissa Lauber, United Methodist News Service
Invisible Children exposes tragic circumstances in Uganda by Carla Aponte--article about the original Invisible Children documentary
FOR OTHER INFORMATION
http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/
http://activeblessing.com/
Invisible Children: Rough Cut--the hour-long documentary, filmed by three young filmmakers from Southern California, that launched the Invisible Children movement
News on celebrity efforts to aid Invisible Children, most notably Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, who has been particularly vocal in regard to this cause
Invisible Children Facebook page
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