Uganda

1. Uganda The Pearl of Africa

2. Welcome to Uganda! • Uganda is a beautiful land full of mountains, forests, plains and many different types of people • It is located in central Africa • 33.8 million people call Uganda home • People speak many languages, including English, Swahili and many traditional languages, such as Lubanga

3. While Uganda is very beautiful, the people of Uganda, especially the children, have had to face many hardships • Some children in Uganda have lived through war their entire life

4. War in Uganda • For over twenty years, there has been a war in Uganda • An army, called the Lord’s Resistance Army (or LRA) goes around in northern Uganda hurting villages and people

5. The LRA kidnapped children from villages, forcing them to cook, clean, do other chores, and steal for the army • Some of the children were even forced to be soldiers in the army! • Many children have been hurt or killed by the LRA

6. Night Commuters • In order to protect themselves from the LRA, many children used to walk many miles to cities to find shelter • They left their villages before it became dark • The children who walked to cities every night were called Night Commuters

7. Night Commuters • While there are shelters in Uganda for the Night Commuters, thousands of children came to the cities and often the shelters did not have enough room • Some had to sleep on the ground • In the morning, the children woke up early to walk back to their villages

8. Night Commuters • Some of the Night Commuters were orphans or could not find their families because the LRA destroyed their villages • During the night, many of the children had nothing to do

9. Because the children had to spend so much time going back and forth between the villages and the cities every day, they often did not get to go to school • The LRA destroyed many schools, too, making it even harder for children to get an education • The schools often do not have supplies, or even books for the students to learn from! Lungulu Primary School in Uganda

10. There is HOPE! • Even though some attacks on villages still occur, the amount has decreased since 2008 • Children and families are beginning to settle back in to their villages • Heading back to the villages means the opportunity to go back to school • That is where YOU come in!

11. E-luminate • Through E-luminate, you will create resources that allow children in Uganda to learn more about the world • The projects you send will give a child hope for a better future, and opportunities to learn things they never could before

12. Thank you!