ACT News Update

Uganda 02/04

Geneva, October 22, 2004—“Brothers and sisters, we are very grateful for this assistance,” says Gloria, the leader of a camp of displaced people in which the Church of Uganda, a member of the global alliance Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, has been working. “God should bless those hands and hearts that sent these things,” she adds.

Some of the “things” Gloria and residents of the Abonyo Tingere camp have received from the Church of Uganda through the support of ACT members around the world are jerry cans, saucepans and other cooking utensils. They are small, basic household items, but they make a big difference in the lives of people who were forced from their homes and who had very few possessions, making everyday tasks very difficult.

The displacement of people, many of whom fled to camps, has been a result of an 18-year rebellion against the government of Uganda by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the north of Uganda. According to the United Nations, some two million people have been uprooted by the conflict.

The Church of Uganda reports that, although the emergency is subsiding, people in camps are still “very miserable.” “There is an acute shortage of food, poor sanitation leading to poor health generally, but in particular among children,” the church reports. It says some parents have been sneaking back to their villages to harvest cassava from their gardens to feed their families. But a number of them have been ambushed or killed. In one camp, it was reported that 15 parents went missing after trying to get food from their villages.

While there has been little food for residents inside the camps, the security conditions there are safe, the church reports. People would like to return to their homes, but the government has not given permission for them to do so, because of generally unsafe conditions outside the camps, due to sporadic LRA attacks. Also, the church says that there are many groups roaming around the camps in search of food and people to ambush. “This has caused a lot of fear in the IDPs [internally displaced persons], and they are not moving out of the camps yet. Some have moved to camps where there is land to cultivate so that they can get food of their own,” the church reports.

In addition to the kitchen-related items distributed in camps, the Church of Uganda has distributed tarpaulins for shelter, blankets and food items. On average, families received 10 kg of maize flour and 5 kg of beans.

Four months through its six-month response, which began when ACT appeal AFUG-41 (Assistance to Internally Displaced) was issued on June 2, 2004, the church has been able to assist 7,086 households, or 44,217 people. It has received US$142,000, or 65 percent of the appeal’s target of US$217,633.

Because of partial funding for the appeal, the Church of Uganda has been able to work in only half of the planned 16 camps it targeted for assistance. It has focused on providing emergency relief items and addressing its goal to reduce hunger among vulnerable groups, especially children, mothers, people with disabilities, child-headed families and providing non-food items to families with children under the age of 5. It will also provide hoes, axes and seeds to displaced people living in relatively peaceful areas who have access to land for growing food. If the church receives additional funding for its appeal, it will be able to provide farming assistance for residents of other camps.