Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay. – Psalm 40:17
Food for the Hungry
started its work of ending physical and spiritual poverty in some of the poorest regions of Uganda in 1989, focusing on child development, discipleship, agriculture, water, health and sanitation, and education. In the northern part of the country, a horrific civil war raged for more than 20 years resulting in some 200,000 deaths and 1.6 million people displaced. During the conflict, the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) captured, raped, impregnated and terrorized girls. Following the 2006 peace agreement and the cessation of fighting, tens of thousands of these girls (with babies in tow) escaped from or were released by the LRA. Deeply traumatized, they attempted to reintegrate into their former communities, but were rejected by friends and families. To respond to the massive needs of these “child mothers,” Janet Shaver, staff member of Food for the Hungry, along with Dr. Wendy Bovard, started a trauma counseling and life skills training in 2006 in Kitgum district. The New Life Center (NLC)
was established to offer a safe haven where the girls (up to 36 at a time) participate in a 12-week rehabilitation and biblically based counseling program, which includes social, emotional and vocational support. At the completion of the 12-week program, counselors trained by Food for the Hungry from within the communities are responsible for follow-up visits and ongoing counseling and care for the girls and their families. Food for the Hungry is also providing support through literacy and numeracy education, savings and loan groups, and livelihood opportunities. Through the NLC, thousands
of marginalized girls have experienced positive change and now function normally in society again. Many of them have embraced a personal relationship with Christ. Anne McCain, regional manager of Food for the Hungry’s advocate ministry, visited with the recent graduates of the New Life Center. Following are testimonies of some of the women as transcribed by McCain. Many of them had named their babies sad names like “Depression,” ‘Despair” and “God take this child.” However, after living at the NLC, they renamed their children “Hope,” “Joy” and “Trust in God.”
The new life center is a place of hope for many former captives of the Lord’s Resistance Army. At the NLC, these “child-mothers” receive biblical counseling, as well as training in literacy and life skills.
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SPRING/SUMMER 2010
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