A mother reunited with her child in Nzara. The outcome of Teresa's reunion with her children is one that so many hope for when they arrive in the camp."Amidst a lot of suffering, there are also events which bring joy and hope. Yesterday, Teresa, a Congolese refugee who arrived in Nzara a few days ago, came to us and had the great joy of embracing her seven children whom she had thought to be dead.

She told us her family was living peacefully in a village called Yakuruku in DR Congo. She and her husband John Mbapa had seven children: Emmanuel 19 yrs., Justina 18, Joseph 17, Moses 14, Judita 12, Mary 10 and Vicky 4.

Due to the attacks of the Lord’s Resistance Army [LRA] they would hide in the safety of the forest each night. Vicky, the youngest, used to cry a lot during the night, so that evening, as there were rumours that the rebels were near, the parents told the children to go deeper into the forest, while they remained near home, hidden in the grass. The safety of the younger children was entrusted to Emmanuel and Justina.

Mbapa took the first turn in watching while Teresa slept, then during the turn of Teresa, after midnight, she heard the noise of gumboots. She woke up her husband, but they had no chance to escape. Using big torches, the rebels found them easily. Mbapa tried to escape, so he was tied up. They were taken back in their compound which was full of rebels who had already collected their few belongings: food, saucepans and blankets. In the meantime they also collected the neighbours: three men and four women. The children in the forest heard the cries coming from the village and understood they had to stay away. Luckily enough that night Vicky was still sleeping when they heard the cries of their parents. Emmanuel took her and they began running and running.

The rebels started moving with their captives and their belongings. They walked for three days, resting only a few hours during the night. Wherever they went they kept killing and abducting. They stopped at last and told the women to look for firewood and start cooking. During the night some rebels collected the four abducted men who were already tied together and took them into the bush and killed them. This is what happened to almost all men. The women could hear their cries. Teresa says she noticed that rebels have different tasks: one group surrounds the prisoners during the night, while others remain hidden just outside the camp to control anyone who eventually tries to run away. If you are caught you are killed immediately.

The following night Teresa was sent again for firewood. She pretended to kneel down to tie the bundles together and managed crawled away until she reached a spot covered by tall grass. She then ran falling down many times as it was so dark. This is probably why she lost, after some time, the child she was expecting. Teresa had great courage as we know that if you are caught after trying to run, you are severely punished, tortured and killed. Sometimes LRA rebels take revenge on other prisoners. Teresa spent days wandering in the forest until she reached a road where she met some SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army] women soldiers who informed her they were going to Yambio [town near Nzara, South Sudan]. She joined them.

On the way she was told that many Congolese refugees were in Makpundo Camp, 40 miles from Yambio, and another group was in Nzara. Before reaching Yambio they took a rest in Makaragundo where the women soldiers shared food with her. Here she met an old neighbour and some relatives. However, no one could give her information about her children; she lost all hope of ever seeing them again. She established herself with other refugees in an area near Rimenze; after a while she held a funeral for her children. It was only after seven months that she heard from other Congolese coming from Makpundo Camp that UNHCR was trying to trace the family of seven children staying in Nzara with the Comboni Sisters. She then decided to come to Nzara, it took her two days by bicycle. You can imagine the joy, the tears they all shed when mother and children met.

Teresa finished her story by adding that girls and women given as wives to LRA are not sent to fight, but, like all the abducted, suffer greatly due to lack of food and abuse. Especially children are dying.
The elder son, Emmanuel, then told us what happened the night LRA came to their village.

After hearing the cries of their parents, Emmanuel collected Vicky who was still sound asleep and they all ran deeper into the bush. During the next day Emmanuel and Justina went back home. They found it deserted and everything destroyed and burned, no sign of their parents, no one present in the area. They went back to the bush where they waited in vain for three days for their parents. Their situation was worsening: no food, no security. They started their journey towards South Sudan until, after five days, they reached Nzara.

They were exhausted and hungry. Emmanuel had swollen legs as he had to carry Vicky all the way. They stopped under a tree near Nzara market, a lady saw them and hearing their story, she had pity and took them to her home. Some days later people said that the Comboni Sisters were helping refugees so they went to them.

Thanks to the people who are helping and supporting us, we have been able to meet the emergency needs of refugees who are displaced due to the terrible activities of Joseph Kony and his Lord Resistance Army."

The Cooperative currently has 150 working members and comprises six departments: Embroidery, Tailoring, Tie-dye, Weaving, Beads and Cards.

IRT took some of the products to the Fair Christmas Fayre this Saturday the 5th December at the Salvation Army on Oxford Street, London. The Wawoto Kacel merchandise was received with great enthusiasm. We will be adding many of the products to our on-line shop, so if you missed us at the Christmas Fair, you'll soon have the opportunity to order the products on-line! All the proceeds from the Fayre Christmas Fair as well as funds raised in the future with our on-line shop will be going directly to IRT's projects, including projects supported by the Comboni Samaritans.

Ann Donnelly and Joan Skelton at their jam and marmalade stall at Our Lady and St Edmund’s Church in Backworth, North Tyneside. Sales have benefited the International Refugee Trust by £4470. Photograph by Gerry Latimer from Northern Cross

Gerry Latimer from Northern Cross explains that the ladies were "moved by an appeal from IRT to equip a Mobile Clinic for work with refugees in Africa".  This is when they came up with the idea to make and sell jam and marmalade. The demand for their home made produce "took them by surprise". They soon sold 200 jars and decided to make their first donation to IRT. They have continued to do so ever since.

There are many chairties that need supporters such as Ann and Joan, and IRT is truly grateful to have been picked by these ladies. Ann explained that she chose to support IRT in particular because "it has a small and efficient staff and the money raised does not go on expensive overheads but is all spent on the projects".        

Throughout the years Ann and Joan's production has steadily risen.  They are now bringing the jam to other parishes as well and, Joan explains "we are very green, too. We have recycled between 4,000 and 5,000 jam jars.” The fruit is often donated and their large freezer is frequently replenished.

Ann and Joan have donated to IRT projects based in Africa, Jordan, Thailand. Joan and Ann told the Northern Cross that by now they have made 19 donations to IRT's projects; worth a staggering £4,470, and over "two metric tonnes of jam"!

We at IRT are deeply touched by this wonderful story. It shows that the people we are assisting in our projects are not forgotten. We would like to thank Ann and Joan for their amazing efforts, and a big thank you to everyone buying their jams and marmalades. We are looking forward to having a little taste in the future!!

Sister Giovanna Calabria wrote…Refugees in Nzara from border regions with DRC and CAR. Picture taken by Sister Giovanna Calabria.
“Today, 14th November, at 10 a.m I went to verify what happened the previous evening in Beremanga, on the road going to Nasikisa. I saw the bodies of the 4 people killed by the LRA: Mr. Daniel Kpangakpo with his daughter Jeniti and Mr. Attilio Gadia (who was a worker of the complex [the Comboni’s) with his son, Atio.

This is what happened through the words of Attilio's wife who able to escape in the confusion: It was 6 p.m. of Friday 13th November when six LRA, three of them holding a gun, came to Attilio's house, guided by an abducted man. They asked for food and Attilio’s wife offered cassava leaves, but they refused and asked for cassava roots; Attilio sent his son Atio to go to the field and uproot the cassava.
The LRA soldiers explained to Attilio that they wanted to surrender, they enquired about the presence of the UPDF soldiers in the area. Attilio offered himself to accompany them to Nzara to surrender.  LRA then asked about their neighbor; Attilio sent his son on his bicycle to collect his neighour Daniel. Daniel’s daughter Jeniti followed them on foot. As Daniel they all started to discuss what to do next, but suddenly the atmosphere changed and LRA began shooting. They killed Attilio, his son and Daniel. The abducted man managed to escape into the bush and saved himself.
Daniel's daughter Jeniti arrived later as she was on foot. She came to see what was happening and she was also shot.

Today, Sunday 15th November people found in Beremanga, area of Tumba, three bodies killed probably on Friday morning with their head crushed. The LRA does this to spare bullets.
SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army, predominantly Christian Sudanese rebel movement turned political party] soldiers and the police came to check. They found the bodies of a man and couple living in the area. They had gone to see if the trap they put previously had captured an animal. On the way back they probably met the LRA and were killed.”

The LRA soldiers who initially told Attilio and his family they wanted to surrender to the Ugandan army may have been telling the truth. IRT is hearing more frequent reports of individual LRA rebels who return to Uganda. An 'arrow boy' shows his choice of weapon to stand up against the LRA.Through an agreement within the
Ugandan government, LRA soldiers are allowed to return and be forgiven, hoping that this will allow them to re-integrate into society and so end the bitter violence.  For whatever reason, these soldiers appear to have lost their nerve (there are rumours that the reconciliation agreement is just a ploy to get LRA soldiers to come out of the bush so that the Ugandan army can arrest them). As a result, innocent people once again lost their lives due to LRA violence.

Furthermore, Sister Giovanna informed us of the people’s support in southern Sudan for a new group fighting the LRA, called ‘arrow boys’. The arrow boys are group of boys and men who use traditional weapons such as bows, arrows, spears and clubs, treated with poison to fight the LRA. As Sister Giovanna pointed out, the LRA hardly have access to guns and bullets anymore, therefore resorting to axes, knifes and even bits of wood to harm civilians. The arrow boys aim to protect their families and villages.

Clearly civilians are taking fate into their own hands, as their governments are unable to get rid of the LRA. These people need support. As the LRA is becoming a regional problem, cooperation between the affected countries and their governments is essential. We are hoping that with international pressure, this cooperation can become a reality in the near future.

Sign the petition asking the UK government to put pressure on the international community to endorse regional cooperation in stopping the LRA!!!

As they walked together with GuluWalk, the people of Gulu aimed to remind us of the atrocities caused by the Lord's Resistance Army in the past in Uganda and in the present in neighbouring countries. They wore Barefoot Peace Walk t-shirts to show solidarity with the victims of LRA violence and to make it clear, that eventhough the LRA have fled the Gulu District, the people are aware that the LRA is still a potential threat and must be stopped. 

We are very proud that as we walked barefoot through London in protest against LRA violence, our partners in Gulu were doing the same, sharing their concern for the stability of the region.

 The walk, a joined effort of GuluWalk and IRT's local partners, took place in Gulu Town, northern Uganda. Gulu District is where the original incentive for GuluWalk came from: raising awareness for the children from rural areas who had to flee to the safety of a town every night out of fear of LRA abductions. These children were known as the night communters. Today, GuluWalk focusses on the revival of the Gulu District.

As the Gulu District is starting to rebuild itself, IRT is pleased that this year the focus of the walk has extended outside the district to those who are suffering from new LRA attacks. It shows that even though the people in Gulu have been liberated from the LRA, they have not forgotten the atrocities and are keen to show their solidarity for those who are living in fear of the LRA today.

The walk was organised to raise international awareness about the atrocities caused by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in South Sudan, CAR and DRC. We also aimed to show solidarity to those affected by the LRA.

We hope that through our local partners we can let people in the LRA affected regions know about the event and let them know that they are not forgotten.

Throughout the event, walkers were able to sign our petition asking the UK Foreign Secretary for international support to the governments in the
affected countries and add pressure to arrest the LRA leader, Joseph Kony.  If you were unable to attend Barefoot Peace Walk or did not sign the petition on the day, you now have the chance to sign the petition on-line.

IRT is pleased that the event was well attended and that the after event at the Texas Embassy Cantina was a big success. The walkers were welcomed into the venue by the vibrant Gnawa music of Boujemaa Bouboul.

The EU Special Representative for the African Great Lakes Region, Mr Roeland van de Geer, spoke to us about the LRA's background and its context within the regional conflicts, as well as the EU and the international community's role in the Central African region.

Chris Muwanguzi-Mugalu from the London based Ugandan Diaspora highlighted the importance of being together on an event like this and making sure that the people suffering from conflicts that seems to be forgotten by the mass media are not forgotten by us.

IRT would like to thank everyone for attending the event and for your support for the cause. It matters to do something, even if it will not make a direct difference. To show solidarity is highly important and we hope our solidarity will help those who are suffering to keep going until at last peace is restored in the region.

An astounding number of people attended the protest, over 20 000 Southern Sudanese who are terrified of what will happen to them if the LRA are not stopped soon.

In our blog of September 22 2009, we described the barefoot and silent protest organised by a Bishop in Yambio in Southern Sudan last month. Some 20 000 people joined in to protest against the violence caused by the LRA.

Today we received images of this event which we want to share with you. The numbers of people you can see on the images illustrate how desperate the people in the region are for there to be an end to the LRA's tiranny.Although the protest was orchestrated by a Catholic bishop, people from all religions and walks of life joined in with the walk, as everyone is equally affected by the LRA.

It is this particular event which inspired us to hold our Barefoot Peace Walk this year in London. Bishop Eduardo, who organised the walk in Sudan, urged the international community to raise awareness of what is happening in the region. We will be walking barefoot and in silence through central London on the 24th October to show solidarity to those affected by the violence and to help spread the word about the atrocities and the need to stop the LRA.Walking barefoot down the streets of Yambio, South Sudan

 If you would like to join us on the 24th October, please have a look at our Barefoot Peace Walk page to find out more details. We want to make sure that these people's voices are heard not just in Southern Sudan, but in as many regions of the world as possible. The more come to the Barefoot Peace Walk, the harder it will be for these atrocities to be ignored.