The north still has a long way to go.

My colleague Jake has alluded to the twenty year war between the state and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. The LRA, an indigenous group, terrified its own people in the north aided in part by the odd interplay of inter-tribe and intra-African geopolitics that is far too complex to describe here. (Although Reuters does a good job here.) The LRA members were fierce and ruthless fighters devaluing life and debasing communities through rape, torture, abductions and murder. Many villagers moved to camps for safety while others, known as night commuters, would file into cities in the evening. A child could go to the village water source and never return.

The remnants of the LRA are still leading attacks in neighboring Congo. The UN estimates that they killed over 1,200 people and abducted over 1,400 children from 9/2008 through 6/2009. The International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Kony and his top associates on multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The short of it is northern Uganda has not developed in 20 years. People lived in camps for 5, 10, 20 years. The war's end is a clear blessing, but returning home to their native lands presents many problems. There is a generation going back home to a land they have never seen before. It is a cultural change. Many adults now must find ways to farm to survive when previously their meals were provided for at camps. Boreholes that once provided water are no longer working. Families are now larger than they once were, putting additional stress on any type of infrastructure that may be remaining or that will be built. Simply, after twenty years the cleared out areas that were once villages will often have become overgrown and dilapidated. And after living in camps they lack the savings to provide for much.

In this context, our goal is not to provide a hand out, but to build the capacity of those returning home -- those who faced disaster -- to live healthier lives. It is a slow process, a struggle. But it is a hopeful one, and rewarding when done right.