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The program also uses small groups. Oruni says, "Five or six girls or boys, similar in age and experience during captivity, are grouped together and encouraged to talk about what happened and how they feel.

"The girls will say, 'There's nothing good about me,' or 'I was made [a commander's] wife, so I must live on,' and we start there."

Older children are taught vocational trades. Youth who can earn a living are better able to resist the temptation of re-joining the army or beginning a life of prostitution.

The greatest spiritual and emotional need the children have is to forgive others and to feel forgiveness. That only begins to happen in a meaningful way when they openly admit the wrongs they have done and decide to release others of their wrongs as well.

For victims of unspeakable crimes and those who have raped, mutilated, and savagely killed others—especially their own parents or siblings—it is a monumental task. Oruni told ct about one unforgettable story of forgiveness between two Ugandan children:

"There was a pregnant girl who was abducted with four others. These soldiers killed the other four and spared her because she was pregnant, but cut off her lips and nose and left her to bleed to death.

"Not long after she came to the center, the boy soldier who mutilated her escaped and came also. They both surrendered to Jesus Christ. The boy went to this girl and asked her forgiveness. She knew that she must forgive to be forgiven, so she forgave the boy his crime, and they rejoiced together."

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also posted today is

Deliver Us from Kony | Why the children of Uganda are killing one another in the name of the Lord.

SIDEBAR
Peace Not out of Reach | What American Christians can do to help resolve the LRA conflict.

More Christianity Today articles on Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army include:

Two Missionaries Killed in Uganda | Couple was willing to help anyone, anywhere, anytime. (March 23, 2004)

Ebola Outbreak Leads to Suspension of Church Services | Panic and terror spread like virus as infections and deaths increase. (Oct. 20, 2000)

Innocence Stolen | A paramilitary group in Uganda is abducting younger children to fill its ranks. Those who manage to escape are plagued with haunting memories. (July 13, 2000)

Under Suspicion | Following cultic deaths of 900, independent Christian groups in Uganda come under a cloud of mistrust and fear. (May 3, 2000)

The BBC has done extensive reporting on the LRA:

Profile: Uganda's LRA rebels | The Lord's Resistance Army, which has been fighting the Ugandan Government for nearly 18 years, has become know for its brutality, but the reasons for their rebellion are less well known. (February 6, 2004)

In pictures | The 'night commuters' who flee their homes each day (February 6, 2004)

Uganda's fallen child rebels | There are few things which can prepare you for the terrible reality of witnessing a "military victory" against the kidnapped child soldiers of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). (April 8, 2004)

Uganda's atrocious war | Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has become synonymous with torture, abductions and killings (June 12, 2003)

Uganda army in 'rights abuses' | The Ugandan army has been accused of carrying out severe human rights abuses on the civilian population in the north of the country. (July16, 2003)

Uganda business prepares for peace | For the casual visitor, Gulu does not seem like a town at the centre of a 17-year-old war. (February 26, 2004)

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January 2006, Vol. 50, No. 1