War Victims and Children Networking (WVCN) is a Community Based Organization founded by war victims of Northern Uganda. The founder is Ms. Stella Angel Lanam who is a Young Leader in Africa from Northern Uganda. The organization is founded with the Mission of: "To work in partnership with vulnerable communities and diverse organizations to overcome psychological distress ad foster livelihood and economic well-being of the community affected by war in Northern Uganda."
“When I came back home from the bush with 2 children, I was rejected from home with the reason that I have come back with the children born in the bush (“Rebels’ Children”) and I cannot live with them there.”
“When I came back home, I was not welcomed well at home. I came back with a woman and one child and with one of my legs cut off. However, I was given land to put my house and live there with my wife whom I came back with but no one came to help me with the construction of the houses as I am disabled. This forced me to marry another two women to help me in doing other works that I cannot do.”
“When I came back home from the bush with two (2) children, my grandmother rejected me from home. My father was already dead and there was no one to stand beside me. I started renting and up to now, I have not gone back there. I faced a lot of stigmatization and discrimination from my family.”
“When I came back from captivity, I was taken to World Vision but unfortunately, none of my relatives came to see me there. In 2007, when people started leaving Internal Displacement Camp and going back to the village, I too went to the village but due to land wrangles, my house was burnt down to ashes. I was rejected because of two things; first of all, I was told that I do not belong to that clan and I do not have any land there. My mother just went with me there and my father is a Kenyan. I was abducted when I was only 10 years old. Secondly, they said that since I was taken to the bush, I might have killed many people there, so I could no longer live with them because I have blood in my hands. My house which I built was burnt down to ashes. I had nowhere to run to, my wife also left me with 9 children and now here I am living in the church with my children. When I am going to look for some money, I always lock my children inside the church because I fear someone may kill or rape them. I wash clothes for the bodabodas to get money for survival but there is a lot of criticism as I am and very funny to see me washing my fellow men’s clothes. My children are no longer going to school. I do not have money to provide them with even.”
Many of LRA war victims’ children are not going to school because the parents (in many cases. their mothers) cannot raise money to pay them at school, since their fathers might have been killed during the war battle between Lord Resistance Army (LRA) and the government of Uganda’s soldiers or is still in the bush or the origin of their fathers cannot be traced). There are over 500 of such children but we have managed to get scholarship for only 7 who are being sponsored in Primary schools. So, our mission is to lobby for funds to meet their education needs. At this juncture. I request you join us in the search.
It is not easy to be a victim of war in Northern Uganda The LRA war in Northern Uganda lasted for over 20 years but rehabilitation of war victims have not lasted even for 5 years. Many of the war victims are psychologically traumatized. There is no rehabilitation centre here in Northern Uganda where they could receive psychosocial support, guidance and counselling, training them on how to live and integrate in the community. Currently, most of the war victims who were rejected and discriminated are homeless with no single plot of land to build their house in or for farming. Most of them who have been rejected have found their ways to live in towns but unfortunately, due to their low economic status, it is very hard for them to afford to pay rent every month.
“I did not receive any good welcome at home because, by the time I was abducted, my parents were all dead. When I came back, I only found my uncle’s wife who did not welcome. Due to a difficult life, I came back to start a living in town with my children. I only spent one week at home then I came back in town in 2006. When my children were ready to begin schooling, I went back to dig in the village so that I could raise some money to pay them at school but unfortunately, all what I have grown were removed and I came back completely with nothing. Up to now, I cannot go back there anymore. I do not have even a single plot of land to build only one house and one toilet for my children. What hurts me most is that, if I am to die now, it is the Municipal to bury me because I do not have my personal land. Every month I have to pay rent. I am renting but sometime I may fail to get money in time and my landlord can really disturb me. The question I always ask myself is “where will my children go if I am to die now?”
Some of the war victims live with fear in their own house they are renting after divorce with their husband. They came back with children but because they are also humans and normal, most of them got husbands and gave birth to children but unfortunately, if a man get to know they were in the bush that will mark the end of the relationship. Most of the female war victims are left in the house with children to raise in addition to those children they came back with.
“After coming back from the bush, I could not stay alone. I got a husband and we gave birth to children but the man left me with the children in the house. He is a soldier. There was a day he came with a gun and started fighting, he shot my hand with the gun. Most of the time I live here now I live with fear because l always feel he will come back and kill me with my children.”
The majority of LRA war victims' children are not going to school. Many are staying at home with their mothers. There is no hope for them to study as other children. They are time and again sent off from school because of school fees problems. Meanwhile, others do not have a single hope for the future of their children because it is hard for them even to provide food for the family.
“The challenges I am facing with my children is the way to get school fees for my children. I was abducted while I was still a little girl in Primary tow (P.2). I did not study anymore. I really need my children to study even on my behalf of me but there is no hope. Most of the time we even sleep empty stomach here with no food to give them. I only do small farming to keep my children at school as well as provide food for them. But do not have any land for my own. I have to rent land at UGX 80,000 per hectare of land per year. There is no business or other thing to support me with my farming. I have to move long distance to get the land to rent and every day, I have to move from town here to where I have rented the land which is very tiresome. I wish I could just have a plot of land where I can stay with my children. After rejection from home, I thought getting a husband would help me and he will be my father. But unfortunately, his people at home does not like him anymore. To make it worse, we gave birth to a child with a health problem (born with abnormal head. The head is bigger than the normal size). They are saying that when I was in the bush, I might have killed many people. That is why I have given birth to such a child.”
The child is currently 8 years old but cannot stand or walk. She can only sit. The mother should take her to Mbale Hospital but there is not money to take her to the hospital. The child is supposed to be taken to the hospital after every three (3) months to remove water from the head.
“If Kony can still come hack, I will go back to the bush. There, everything is free. But here, I cannot even provide for my children. I only sell charcoal to get money for renting the house, provide food for children and I cannot pay them at school. If I am sick, there is nothing to do but keep on sleeping on an empty stomach if somebody has not helped us with his or her sympathy. I live with my children at home because I cannot afford to pay their school fees. I have no land to live in with them but every month I have to rent this small house. My children have grown up and we all share the same room. There is not privacy in my house. We are living a difficult life really.”
Most of the war victims have a lot of health challenges besides other challenges such as financial problems, no ownership of land, no school fees for the children, rejections, discrimination from society, finger pointing. Some have injuries which need medical attention, others still have bullets in their bodies and others have given birth to children with abnormality which calls for expensive medical attention that they cannot afford.
“I have a bullet in my chest, several hospitals have tried to remove it from Uganda but they have all failed. My fingernails are now turning black. I believe that is the effect of the bullet in my chest. I can no longer dig and yet I am living on only farming activities. I have rent the land in far places to carry out my farming activities and I have to get people to work in my garden and yet I also have leg problems. My leg was supposed to be cut off but was not done. I cannot walk long distances. Not only that, a bullet was removed from my head and this has affected my eyesight. Most of the time, I have to keep my head down. I am really living a difficult life in raising my 10 children.”
There are very many war victims who are seeking for medical attention for themselves and their children in Northern Uganda. A mother of 6 children is really in need of medical treatment for her 4 year old boy who cannot sit or walk. She has to carry the child at all times and as a result, it has really affected her in raising money to provide for her family. She said:
“I gave birth to a twin, but as you see, this one is disabled (both legs are paralyzed). He cannot stand, walk or sit. I have to carry him all the time. Most of the time the child is sick, I have no money to go to the hospital even. If anyone could help to take him for the medical treatment so that he can sit, stand, and walk, I would be happy to see that. My elder son whom I came back had a panga cut from the head and stoned with a rock during the time we were escaping from the bush which most of the time makes him complaint intensive headache and this affects his mental health.”
Some war victims who are men were rejected because their relatives believe that they got mixed up with the bad group in the bush, so they cannot live with them at home anymore.
“I was rejected from home with the view that, when I was abducted, I got mixed up with the bad group (LRA rebels), so, I cannot stay with the people at home. Since that time, I have never gone home to stay there. But now, I cannot afford to pay my children at school. I am living with them at home here and sharing only one house. It is even very hard to pay rent in time as sometimes, there is no money.”
The above is some of the few LRA war victims we have interviewed and we are still interviewing many more as we document the status and kind of life our people are going through after coming back from the bush (LRA War in Northern Uganda). However, below are some of the recommendations they have been giving.