Magazine
Peace but no prosperity
An aerial view of Gulu town in northern Uganda. Note the spectacular plains and fertile black soils begging for crops to grow in them. Photo/MORGAN MBABAZI
Posted Monday, October 19 2009 at 00:00
Rose Laduong, 56, does not remember when she started living in Lugore camp.
“I lost my husband some years ago. Since women cannot inherit land here, I have nothing to go back to in that village. I lost four children, and I am left with one child and three grandchildren who all depend on me. I can no longer till the land as I’m asthmatic and weak. I rely on handouts and a few crops from the kitchen garden.”
Laduong also works as a volunteer birth attendant.
Recently, she started referring women to Lugore Health Centre II, where I met her.
The dependence syndrome is still pronounced in Gulu, but this must change as the area is now secure.
On my trip, I arrived in Gulu at 8:45pm, and there was a bus by the roadside with less than 10 passengers, waiting to fill up for a journey to Kampala in an hour.
This is an indication of peace in the area.
It is for this reason that ICRC, in the transitional phase, is focusing on economic security.
For instance, it aims to provide farming implements to 20,000 households in Amuru, eastern Kitgum, and eastern Pader. It will later purchase some of their produce.
But basic infrastructure like roads is still inadequate.
On the rough road to Mede satellite camp, a field officer I was travelling with told me that the stretch is virtually impossible during the rainy season.
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