A local charity is helping hundreds of families in war-torn northern Uganda plant seeds of hope (literally).

Last February Restorers of Hope distributed seeds, beans and maize plus farming tools to 700 people in a internally displaced person (IDP) camp in Gulu, northern Uganda.

The work in Gulu represents a change for Restorers of Hope. They were formerly running an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. They have now moved north to Gulu, where they feel the need is greater.

Gulu is an area recently freed from the clutches of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

"We felt we had to move north because that is where the war stopped as of last summer," said Restorers of Hope board member Victoria Ellison. "The Ugandan government said there is the greatest need there. The people are so traumatised as the result of the war."

Ms Ellison, a former exempt company worker, will shortly be moving to Gulu to work with Restorers of Hope for a year.

She helped to distribute the seeds, food and tools in LaBora, an IDP camp in Gulu. There are 2,000 people living in LaBora, and an estimated one million people living in other IDP camps in northern Uganda. The majority of the people in the camps are women and children.

"It was very overwhelming to visit LaBora," said Ms Ellison. "Bermuda is so wealthy by comparison.

"You are looking at people who don't have a meal per day, or shoes on their feet. If they have clothes they are just tattered rags. But people are so full of gratitude."

The Ugandan government hopes that the people will soon begin going back to their own villages, which were burned down by the LRA. But they need some way of making a living. The people are no longer getting aid from the United Nations.

"It was thanks to the generosity of Bermudians that they got these seeds," said Miss Ellison. "But it was sad that we just couldn't give everyone in the camp the seeds."

She cried when she realised they did not have enough seeds for everyone.

"Just a few thousand more dollars from Bermudians and we would have been able to do it," she said.

But she was advised that 80 percent distribution was good work, because many of those people who received seeds would share with those who did not get seeds.

"The government thanked us and the farmers thanked us," said Ms Ellison.

The seeds were distributed to the "heads" of household. Ms Ellison was shocked that many of the "heads" turned out to be children under 10-years-old, and women.

"I asked 'where are all the men?'. The answer was there were very few men, because they were all killed or captured by the LRA.

"My heart broke. There is so much that we can do in the area to help these people."

The LRA is a guerrilla group led by Joseph Kony. Since 1987, the LRA has been engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government in Uganda, which claims to be based on the Christian Bible and the Ten Commandments. It has been estimated that the LRA has kidnapped about 30,000 children, many to become soldiers or sex slaves.

"There is always the possibility that the LRA could come back," said Ms Ellison. "But at present the army has retreated to the tip of Congo in Sudan. The Ugandan army are pursuing them daily to try and bring the war to an end. While I was there one of Kony's major army officials was captured. But it has still not ended. "

On August 28, the United States Treasury Department placed Kony on its list of "specially designated global terrorists".

With the LRA retreating, it is now a regular occurrence for people kidnapped as children by the LRA to suddenly reappear in their old villages.

But after the welcomes what to do with these former child soldiers becomes a problem. The abducted children, many of them now in their teens, are horribly traumatised and have no education or skills.

Ms Ellison and Ms Atcheson recently took courses in counselling traumatised children in preparation for their work in Gulu.

They hope to soon open an orphanage in Gulu for some of these children.

"At the end of July we will be taking our first children," said Ms Ellison. "We will be dealing with children with great emotional needs. We will also be reaching out to the widows in the area.

"Another organisation has just taken in three child soldiers who had escaped the LRA. They haven't spoken a word in three months. These are the kinds of children we will be taking care of, helping to feed and educate."

The Restorers of Hope Ugandan representative, Mike Shabiti, had two brothers kidnapped by the LRA.

"They were released in their mid teens," said Ms Ellison. "One has begun to live a normal life. The other, to this day, has never been able to cope with life. They are still struggling to integrate back into society because of the trauma.

"We hope to go in and out and minister to the children. We are about education and teaching them the word of God. That is one of our goals."

She said many of the children she met in the LaBora camp had never seen a book, a toy, or even a piece of paper.

Ms Ellison said forgiveness was one of the greatest things she witnesses in Gulu.

Many of the children who were kidnapped by Kony were forced to brutally murder their own family members and neighbours.

And yet, when they return home, they are often welcomed.

"They are integrated back into the same families," said Ms Ellison. "Their families recognise that these children were so innocent.

"But the children are deeply traumatised. We are not the only foundation that is working there. The need is so vast."

Restorers of Hope is currently looking for more volunteers and also financial assistance to carry on their work.

For more information about Restorers of Hope go to their website at www.restorersofhope.org, or write to: PO Box HM 3385, Hamilton PX, Bermuda, telephone 295-5175 or e-mail dandrew@transact.bm.

They plan to soon change their name in Uganda, because there is another charity with a similar name. Donations can be made through the Bank of Bermuda Ltd, account number 010-123529-001, Butterfield Bank 20-070-840-014525-200 or at Capital G at 401-004-0455 or online at www.express.bm/donations/