11/26/2004

"I want to start my own business so that I can help my children," said “Harriet,” a mother of three who is pictured here in a child reception center in Gulu in northern Uganda. The center is for children who were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Here the children receive medical and psychological support before they return to their communities. Harriet, now a mother of three, was abducted in 1995. One week after she was abducted, she was given against her will to a soldier who was her father's age. She was severely beaten by members of the LRA and forced to carry heavy loads. The LRA released her and her three children when Ugandan military pressure intensified. “Child mothers” face many challenges when they return to their communities. RI is working to ensure that when they return home, they have a way to support their children.