THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN OF LUMULE
NEED YOUR HELP TO REBUILD THEIR COMMUNITY
I was running.
Running after a rusty old bicycle wheel.
My feet pounding the ground.
Clouds of dust hovered over my footprints.
I was smiling.
Lost in joy.
I hadn’t realised how far my feet had taken me.
Until the rebels came.
With their fire and guns.
And then I was running again.
Running into the bushes to hide.
Running from the bombing.
Running from the screaming.
Running, running, running.
Dennis’s last memories of Lumule were running to hide almost three times a day.
He was 7 years old.
Hidden away in northern Uganda, on the border of South Sudan, lies Lumule.
Stories of LUMULE’s heartbreaking past have been largely untold. Until now.
Forgotten by mainstream media, the town suffered a civil war for almost 30 years. Schools were occupied by rebel forces, using them as bait to lure innocent children.
Young boys were abducted and forced to do horrifying acts to prove they were worthy of living. Young girls were abused, and adults murdered if they resisted.
Despite the region now being relatively safe, the community has been forgotten.
The school walls, scarred with bullet holes, are barely standing and force children to study outside in all weather conditions.
Without the facilities to provide food during school hours, the village children are often surviving on just one meal a day.
Children spend lunchtime beneath the trees with empty stomachs, often not returning for the afternoon, unable to concentrate in lessons.
Only 1 in 3 children complete
primary school in Lumule
With your support,
we can change
their future.
Abused young girls have been left with the responsibility of raising multiple children instead of completing their education.
A lack of formula food means they’re unable to leave their children in the care of their families while they learn. And a lack of sanitary products means they often skip class during their cycle.
The war has resulted in boys returning as traumatised young men without support.
It’s deprived a generation of an education. Where life skills, opportunities and freedom have been taken away from a community desperate to be self-sufficient.
But with your support, we can change their future.
“I realised that Lumule needed more than just my support; they needed a voice. So I started the Lumule Foundation.”
– Dennis Okwera,
Founder of Lumule Foundation