by Clyde Annach

Created on: December 08, 2006   Last Updated: January 03, 2010

This past Saturday I had the privilege of attending a women's sewing bee. There were about thirty women and children present ranging from the youngest to the wisest. These women of God were bringing the love of Jesus to the children of war ravaged Uganda.

The event sponsored by Nancy, a member of ChildVoice International, a Durham New Hampshire based Christian, nonprofit humanitarian organization.

ChildVoice International lists among its mission points as providing assistance to "child victims of war around the world through advocacy, research, and effective demonstration projects." The plight of Uganda's children seems to have escaped our main stream media.

Uganda is a landlocked country somewhat smaller than the state of Oregon. It is surround by the nations of Sudan to the North, Kenya to the East, The Congo to the West with Tanzania and Rwanda to its South.

Joseph Kony started a rebel movement to overthrow the government of Uganda in 1987. That movement is called the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Among the favorite tactics utilized by the LRA to maintain control of the civilian population in the North include rape, torture, mutilation and massacre.

Troop strength is augmented by the abduction and conscription of children. Girls are forced to be sexual slaves and boys either laborers or soldiers. It is estimated that over 25,000 children have been abducted by this group.

Nancy's passion for the children of Uganda would occasionally cause her to choke on her words as tears welled in her eyes. She explained how 25,000 kids would nightly cover distances of 20 miles and more to evade the LRA patrols. These very same rebel patrols have driven an estimated 1.5 million people from their homes in Northern Uganda and into refugee camps.

This mass migration and slaughter of civilians, called one of the worlds worst humanitarian emergencies, has destabilized both the security and the economy of Uganda.

Under these conditions a lack of toys to play with seems almost frivolous, as to not be worthy of consideration, but not to a child. Play can teach social skills such as how to interact with others and how to care for ones own children. Play can be an escape from the mean world that is their reality.

The women participating know this instinctively and work with determination and diligence. Producing over seventy of the dolls by days end, several of the women take home raw materials to continue working at home. Nancy's passion had energized the whole group!

Over the next

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