Skeleton Crew asks: What is this "Uganda Peace Building" then?

Lorna Watson of Peaceroots replies: First, 'building' should be read as a verb rather than a noun! Our local group doesn't have a web site, but Peace Direct with which we are affiliated does.

We first of all called ourselves Peace Direct Oxford Branch, but now that we're registering as a separate organization, we're calling ourselves 'Peaceroots'.

This will give you a general idea of the kind of work we are trying to support. Our local group, which is in the process of getting registered as an independent charity, is focussing on Uganda, and we have a personal link with a group there called People's Voice for Peace. As you probably know, there has been a civil war going on in northern Uganda for about 18 years. A particularly vicious outfit called the Lord's Resistance Army has been opposing the government by means of acts of terror. Their speciality is to abduct children and force them to carry out the most appalling atrocities against their own people so that they will be rejected by their communities and find their only 'home' with the LRA. Recently, there have been a series of cease fires and thanks to various peace initiatives and amnesty programmes, people are now deserting the LRA in large numbers. The small sums that we are able to raise are going towards a revolving loan scheme which will help women whose husbands have been killed to establish themselves in income generating projects. These women will also receive training in helping former abductees to be reintegrated into their communities.

Links

Search for People's Voice for Peace on Google...

Peace Direct.

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