War has not ended in the lives of northern Uganda children

the Writer with some of the children in amuru

By Gertrude Tumusiime

My friend looked at the pictures of children, I took while in Amuru District, northern Uganda, she said,

 “ugliness is synonymous with poverty.” 

 I laughed to the deepest  but later thought through the statement and realized its validity. 

While in Amuru, I  visited a few places, but of the few I went to, the children’s population outnumbered the adults'. 

Here, only the lucky ones wore very scruffy clothes while the unlucky wore only a shirt or a pair of shorts. It was also here that I realized that bear chests and feet are no surprises.  

Under scorching sunshine, the little ones happily stared in awe at every stranger who graced their territory and ran after any car that passed by. Their innocent eyes could have a lot of hope in the us ( visitors). 

These children are welcoming; they generously return a smile to anyone who offers one, not even the misery has robbed them of their smile- the little they have to give. Nevertheless, the smiles that brighten their faces have not completely washed away the misery in which they live. 

While here, you find reason to extend love to a soul of at least one child because practically speaking, none of them looks like he or she is well taken care of. But I personally believe that if they got access to proper care, they can look more beautiful than they look now, or better still who know if they had grown up in averagely well off families, they would actually look beautiful even when they are naturally not so appealing.

Now, although the insurgency that seized the northern part of the country in the 1990’s recently ended, the children in these post-conflict areas still experience war within their lives. Majority of them children are orphans, whose parents died during the war, they now stay with relatives and families outside their own. 

Many if not all of these relatives are living in abstract poverty, with extended families and typically poor standards of living which they have not chosen to live but fate has got them into. Like in any war torn area, they also suffered losses of property to the Rebels during the insurgency. Therefore, for as much as they would have loved to help these orphans and their own children enjoy their full rights, they do not have capability due to their state.

Going to school is a mystery for majority of the children here, even with UPE, many still do not go to school, and they stay home to play, help with house chores and activities of the sort, also, many of them are dropouts at a tender age. I visited Amuru on a weekday and all the days I spent there were schooldays and this means I did not expect any school going age children at home, but to my surprise, it was the opposite. For as long as they can secure a place to sleep and a meal, a day they do not mind the way the rest ends.  

At home, they sleep in congested huts because the families in which they dwell are extended; a small hut here on average accommodates about 4 adults and about 7 children. Disease in this case is inevitable and when they are ill, it is rare that they get proper medical care. 

Despite the fact that the war has practically ended, in the lives and situations of these children, there is still a lot of fighting and gunshots of poverty, ignorance, defilement, diseases, abuse, no shelter, and many other social ills. These are just a portion of the many vulnerable children suffering in Uganda.

But although the government and other stakeholders are involved in the cause of helping these children, a lot of help is still needed to make these kids look beautiful and regain the glory they were created to be. 

Save a soul of a child today.