A stolen childhood

What is it like to be forced to use a real gun in a real war when you are still a child?

This is what is happening to thousands of children in Uganda, in east Africa. There has been a war in the north of the country for 18 years and more than one million people have fled their homes. Worst of all, the rebels, called the Lord's Resistance Army, take boys and girls away from their families to fight with them. 'Stolen' children make up 85 per cent of this army.

Joseph was taken to be a commander's escort and had to carry the commander's chair and gun. He escaped a year later. But he knows he is in danger. 'I am always afraid,' he says. 'If they get me again they will definitely kill me.'

For this reason, many parents send their children to the towns for safety, where they sleep in temporary shelters, churches, warehouses, or even on the streets. It takes Pius, 13, an hour and a half to walk to a safe place to sleep, each day. Some of the children who sleep there wear their school uniforms, so they are ready to go straight to school the next morning.

'We would prefer to stay at home but because of the war, we can't,' says Pius. 'I have friends who have been taken by the rebels.'

Local groups who work with Christian Aid try to get children released from the rebel army and provide care for them when they return. But while there is a war the situation is still very dangerous.

Christian Aid/Judith Melby

Children who have managed to escape from the Lord's Resistance Army are safe at this centre in northern Uganda


Click the map to see where Uganda is