Latest News | About Hope North

Latest News
February 5, 2008
War/Dance nominated for an Academy Award
The Situation in Northern Uganda is finally recieving the attention it deserves, and the stories are being told through a number of books, articles and even major documentary movies. One of those movies, War/Dance, has been nominated for an Academy award.

War/Dance is produced by Shine Global a non-profit film production company dedicated to drawing attention to children worldwide who are being challenged, or victimized, but are responding with resiliency, talent and hope by making films and other media products. WAR/DANCE, winner of more than 20 festival awards and an academy award nomination is their first film.

February 15, 2008
Uganda: Government Threatens War If LRA Talks Fail
Renewed military action against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) would be an option if peace talks between the insurgency and the Ugandan government did not lead to an agreement by the end of February, a spokesman for the state delegation said.
(IRIN /UN Integrated Regional Information Networks )

About Hope North
The NGO, “Doctors Without Borders” recently named the conflict occurring in
Northern Uganda as one of the top 10 must underreported Humanitarian tragedies
in 2005. Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief,
Jan Egeland has stated that the humanitarian situation in Northern Uganda is worse
than anywhere else. Over 20 years of civil war has led this once “pearl of Africa” to
a humanitarian disaster. Countless Aid organizations refer to Northern Uganda as
the lost region in a continent full of poverty. Uganda, like many other African nations,
has had a history of unlawful dictators, famine, and war. For the past 20 years, the
struggles in the north have captivated many to wonder, why has this conflict been
forgotten? Recent struggles in Sudan and Rwanda have captured countless news
coverage and pledged donations, yet, the country in the middle has suffered.
Please join our campaign to help alleviate the troubles that the people of Northern
Uganda are facing in their everyday lives.

The School
After years spent in either captivity or in IDP (Internally Displace Person) camps, scores of children have grown up with no access to education. Without the opportunities of education, children cannot build the basic foundations of their future. Providing the basic skills and knowledge with education will allow the children to be involved in social and civil activities, and give them decision-making capabilities. At Hope North, the children are provided opportunities to pursue both a secondary education as well as access to a vocational training program. Both programs are administered in a safe and peaceful environment that allows the children the basic freedoms and liberties to follow their dreams without having to worry about their security. With these opportunities, the children will be able to engage and commit to building a successful future for them and their families. By clicking here you can help by sponsoring a child or making a donation to further improve the educational environment for the children.

Learning Life Skills
Baked goods that are delivered to the areas surrounding Hope North Uganda
are delivered by truck from the capital city, Kampala. Therefore the institution of a bakeryallows the families at Hope North to pursue the idea of self-sustainability. It will also enhance the local economy through purchasing of local goods and by decreasing the price that the locals pay for their bread. It also allows the students at Hope North Vocational School, the opportunity to pursue a career in baking by giving hands on training.

With the violence that is occurring in Northern Uganda, many children have lost their opportunities to purse of secondary level of education. They have become a lost generation. The Vocational Workshop will provide these individuals the proper training to pursue careers in vocational crafts (i.e., mechanics, carpentry, building, and sewing). It will give them the knowledge needed to support themselves and their families through these trades. The education learnt through the workshop will also enhance the village, by affording the students the opportunity to expand the village and the school through construction. It will provide them the help to help themselves.

Our Future Plans
Expansion must happen soon. If the peace talks are successful, many more child soldiers will be streaming back to Uganda from thier LRA encampments and will need programs like Hope North to help them reintegrate into Ugandan society. If the peace talks are not successful, abductions are expected to continue.

We need a 4x4. We need a second dormitory building so we can have one each for girls and boys. We need a proper kitchen so we don't have to share the Bakery Building. We need visits from trained volunteer medical personel and educators. You can help.