11/06/2004

The mother pictured here worries about the safety of her children and the difficulties of maintaining a normal family life in the extreme circumstances of northern Uganda. She told RI that her younger daughter has no memories of sleeping in the family’s home. Because this mother fears attacks by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, she walks several miles every night with her two daughters so they can sleep in safety in a night commuting center in Kitgum. The LRA has abducted roughly 20,000 children to serve as fighters and wives in the past 19 years, and each night throughout northern Uganda tens of thousand of women and children become “night commuters” to escape LRA attacks and abduction. RI is working hard to bring more attention to this crisis so that this mother and her children can live in peace.