This month, the team and I traveled to Rackoko, a small village in Northern Uganda, about two hours away from Gulu. Rackoko used to be a IDP (Internally Displaced Persons aka refugee) camp for those who suffered losses after being attacked by the LRA. The LRA, or Lord’s Resistance Army is an army led by a man named Joseph Kony who would abduct children and make them into child soldiers, forcing them to kill their own families and destroy villages. These attacks lasted in for 21 years until 2007 when it moved into the Congo.
It’s been 6 years since the LRA left and Northern Uganda is still war-torn. This part of the country is 21 years behind the rest of Uganda as it found itself in a standstill throughout the war. A whole generation of people are gone and the average age of an Ugandan is15. Adults are few and the elderly is rare as all of them have known countless friends and family who were killed throughout the years. During our month there, we were told countless stories of brothers and sisters who were taken away by the LRA, sometimes ending with reunion, sometimes never hearing from them again.
Movement into the new century is just now starting to take place, but it will take years for Northern Uganda and more specifically Rackoko to catch up. The economy is struggling, good education is hard to find, child brides and teenage pregnancy is common, and HIV/AIDS is rampant.
When the odds are against you, it’s easy to lose hope.
To simply give up.
To lead the lives others expect of us instead of pursuing the dreams God has given us.
So how do you bring hope to a place with no hope?
Why even bring hope to a place with no hope? Is it even worth the cost and risk?
Jesus thought so.
And so does Kingdom Pearl Ministries, the ministry that we worked with this month in Rackoko. Our contact, Godwin, reaches out to the many youth in the village, bringing them hope through many outreaches and encouraging them to stay in school, find jobs that will provide and reach out to others in the community. Pearl City Futbol Club, a ministry out of Kingdom Pearl, teaches the youth soccer and encourages each player in their walk with God through discipleship and fellowship.
"Let us not fix our eyes on what is seen, but rather what is unseen"
(Sorry no photos–bad internet)
*Also thanks everyone for fully funding me! I love ya'll and am so thankful!
