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Twenty-three years ago, the Lakang sub-county in the Amuru district was the epicentre of the Lord’s Resistance Army civil conflict. 

Almost all the young men and women in their 20s now and above, together with the elders were all living in internally displaced camps. Eventually, the guns went silent and people here returned to their communities. 

But as we all know, real peace, especially for women and children does not necessarily mean the absence of war. 

The Hunger Project works with communities to address those inequities that cause hunger to persist. 

We believe in listening to people, embarking on a journey that usually starts with “I can’t” and “Yes, I can do this”. 

We are grateful to the government of Uganda, especially His Excellency, President Yoweri Museveni who accepted to be our chief patron when we started our work about 20 years ago. 

His Excellency the President commissioned our first epicentre in Mpigi, Senge sub-county about 22 years ago. Since then we have been to more than 10 districts with our epicentre strategy journeying with communities in their quest to end hunger.

An epicentre is a one-stop networking point that the community uses to galvanise its efforts against hunger, poverty, domestic violence, and all other issues that stand in the way of development.

The community lead by providing the land and The Hunger Project assists in setting up the structures such as a community hall, a health centre III, an early child learning centre, a village bank, and any facility necessary for growth. The community then takes ownership in leading and facilitating their growth.

Last year, the district leadership of Amuru invited and took us on an awareness visit to Lakang sub-county. An area with very fertile soils yet with some of the highest poverty indicators in that region.

The district leadership had seen the transformation that was happening in the nearby district of Nwoya where our epicentre in Purongo sub-county is fast-changing people’s lives.

For Lakang sub-county, women and children are living on the edge. The guns might have fallen silent more than 20 years ago in this sub-county but for the majority of the women, the psychological trauma of war is still ever present. 

This trauma needs to be addressed because it is shutting down all attempts to complete healing and without healing, it becomes difficult for communities to end hunger.

In The Hunger Project women are our entry point to community transformation, when you empower a woman, you have empowered the whole nation.

However, the majority of the women in Lakang are not well. All through the civil war, they experienced unimaginable forms of violence such as rape, torture, slavery, mental torture of captivity and loss of loved ones, loss of identity, etc. 

Ketty Ajok is one of those mothers we interacted with. Showing us her amnesty card, she narrated her abduction by the rebels when she was just 12. 

Forced to marry a rebel leader, Ketty was finally rescued after more than 10 years in captivity and returned to Lakang with her three children.

Despite the resentment and isolation, Ketty faced on her return for having had children with the rebels, she managed to get into another relationship and had two other children.

But just like fate would have it, she says her new husband was arrested by the wildlife authorities for poaching and has not been heard of in the last four years.

Ketty is struggling to find answers to many things, she does not have access to land that is crucial for her family’s survival.

Access to health facilities, education, and clean and safe water are all still a distant dream for her. She still faces nightmares relating to her abduction.

Tomorrow, March 27, about seven months after our last visit, we will be back in Lakang sub-county to launch the start of our transformational journey of growth and reawakening.

The Hunger Project comes with a wealth of experience in community transformation having been at it for more than 20 years in Uganda.

However, unlike other districts, we know that our approach in Lakang is going to be different. This is because, the challenges in Lakang, are not similar to those in Mpigi, Iganga, Kenshunga, Wakiso, or any of those places we have been.

The epicentre in Lakang will be that space that facilitates the healing of body, mind, and spirit for women like Ketty. We believe that Ketty and all those women in Lakang who suffer silently will be able to utilise this epicenter to get healing and hence unlock their growth potential.

The Parish Development Model (PDM) is a great opportunity that we intend to harness as we embark on this journey of mindset change. The mindset change pillar of PDM resonates well with our transformational model of vision, commitment, and action. 

The other pillar in this journey of healing is leadership. Already the community of Lakang and district leadership have provided the land where the epicentre will be set. 

This is a testimony that the community has an active leadership that is aware. We see this facility transforming into a peace centre that will eventually unlock real peace and development for the community of the Lakang sub-county. 

The writer is the country director, of The Hunger Project Uganda.