A report from Global Development Group, Australia

By Geoff Armstrong

Special to ASSIST News Service

GULU, UGANDA (ANS) -- It was during a trip to Uganda in late March with my wife Betty, we were robbed. While traveling in Gulu, in North Uganda, we had packed our vehicle to travel to Kitgum when a car drove up, grabbed two laptops, numerous cameras, an iPhone, iPod and various other items valued at around $32,000 USD.

We then knew how it felt to be without our “right arm” – especially in a faraway land where we were so dependent on it for accessing our e-mails etc.

When we reported the robbery to the local police, the army immediately set up road blocks and the police were very cooperative – but we didn't get our goods back.

Uganda is a country we love very much, and we have invested much of our time there especially during the terrible days of The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a sectarian religious and military group based in Northern Uganda.

This violence group was formed in 1987 and has been engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in what is now one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. It is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the “spokesperson” of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the Holy Spirit, which the Acholi believe can represent itself in many manifestations.

A child soldier in the LRA

The group is based on “apocalyptic Christianity”, but also is influenced by a blend of Mysticism and traditional religion, and claims to be establishing a theocratic state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi tradition. The LRA is accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children and forcing children to participate in hostilities.

As the violence has died down in recent times, we are now doing our best to help with the two million returnees from IDP Camps.

Northern Uganda Program

In a bid to help rebuild the region, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda had called on government, districts, civil society and development partners to join hands and work together to ensure the success of a “Peace Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda”.

Betty with Irene Gleeson, founder of Childcare Kitgum, which feeds 10,000 children each weekday

Global Development Group has responded to this request and has projects in Pader, Kumi, Oram, Kitgum districts and Gulu. This is described as our “Northern Uganda Program” which has approximately 15,000 beneficiaries.

While many other NGO’s have left Northern Uganda, Global Development Group has been praised by Hon. Oryem Henry Okello, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/International Affairs for being one of the “very effective” NGO’s in the area.

The largest projects are in Gulu, with our partner Watoto (www.watoto.com) and in Kitgum (www.cks.org.au) with our partner, Childcare Kitgum Servants (CKS).

Northern Uganda has experienced economic stagnation arising out of more than two decades of instability. The insurgency in the region has taken a tremendous toll on the population and the economy region.

GDG project staff with Hon. Oryem Henry Okello, Foreign Minister of Uganda

At the end of 2005, the UN estimated 1.6 million people had been forced to leave their homes in Northern and Eastern Uganda to live in internally displaced people (IDP) camps for fear of being attacked and/or abducted by rebels.

As a result, the North remains the poorest region in Uganda with some of the lowest human development indicators in the country.

Irene Gleeson with AIDS affected baby

In many ways, Northern Uganda characterizes the typical set of problems of a post conflict environment. Local government capacities remain weak, with low staffing levels. The north has some of the lowest non-income measures of well-being, including demographics, underemployment, literacy, and access to education, health services and water.

At about 31 percent, the region has the highest incidence of female-headed households in the country (World Bank, 2006).

There are an estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in Uganda, which includes 120,000 children. An estimated 61,000 people died from AIDS in 2008 and 1.2 million children have been orphaned by Uganda’s devastating epidemic.

Kitgum district alone has 22 IDP camps with a total population of 300,435 people.

Some of the highlights of the Northern Uganda Program are:

* 12,000 children in schooling

* 350 graduates per year in vocational training

* 1200 in micro enterprise for widows who have been victims of war and who have HIV/AIDS

* AIDS Hospice

* Medical programs and plans for a Women’s hospital

* Extensive Advocacy for Northern Uganda through radio

* Rebuilding as part of the peace program

* Water, Sanitation and Hygiene initiatives

* Farming

Global Development Group works in 37 countries, see (www.globaldevelopment.org.au) – Australia - and www.globaldevelopmentusa.org (USA), however our largest activities are in Cambodia (42 projects) and Uganda.

Geoff Armstrong is Executive Director (President) of Global Development Group, one of the ten largest NGOs in Australia, with an office in Florida, USA.

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