In yesterday's Baltimore Sun, G. Jefferson Price III writes a powerful Op/Ed from Gulu about the challenges of forgiveness and justice for ex-child soldiers in northern Uganda. Read it here.

Bruno Stevens, photographer for Human Rights Watch, has released a moving photo journal that documents the journey and struggles of the tens of thousands of child "night commuters" who have to walk miles nightly to towns to sleep under verandas on streets to escape the kidnapping of the Lord's Resistance Army. View the photo essay at Human Rights Watch's Web site.

NBC dedicated a segment of its popular Dateline NBC television show to the Children of war in Uganda last night. The segment highlighted the child soldiers and night commuters in northern Uganda and included several of their moving testimonials.

The featuring of northern Uganda on popular network television demonstrates that the US and the world are finally beginning to take notice of this forgotten war. Uganda-CAN hopes to compliment the power of mass media outlets like Dateline NBC to raise awareness about the catastrophe in northern Uganda by being a resource for a more detailed and nuanced analysis of the conflict that illuminates the many complexities of this 19-year old war. More importantly, Uganda-CAN is a channel for those moved to action by such compelling media features to take real steps to support peace efforts and assist those in most dire need.

Stephen Okello, Uganda-CAN director of operations in Uganda, writes from Kampala -

A few minutes ago, I was deeply thinking about children of northern Uganda. As I recollected stories of children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) whom I had personally talked to, I thought a lot about the LRA expressed spirituality and commitment to Christianity. If they really mean what they say, I have to conclude that the Gods Must Be Crazy.

The experience of young, kidnapped children - some 30,000+ of them - are beyond imagination.

Richard, a fourteen year old boy, was abducted from Kitgum district by the LRA and “trained to use guns”. Those children in the LRA who disobeyed had their ears and fingers cut off. Richard said that he did not want to participate in the killing but the rebels threatened to shoot him if he refused. Yet, Richard also really came to believe that Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, has strong powers from God.

Lagule was abducted by the LRA from Gulu district at the age of 16. He killed children three times but did not like it, however he knew what would happen to him if he disobeyed. He is now being haunted with nightmares of the children he killed. By the time he escaped from the LRA, he had attained the rank of second lieutenant as a token of hard work and the amputation of both his legs. I later discover that Lagule was a brave fighter whose legs were blown off by a landmine.

Lucy was abducted in Kitgum district by the LRA and taken to Sudan. She says that she and other girl abductees were distributed to men in Sudan. She helped in the abductions and stealing of food from villagers. Girls who refused to become LRA wives were killed in front of them as a warning. Lucy is a shy beautiful girl who does not enjoy talking about the LRA but her eyes reveal a very bad experience.

At the age of 15, Stella, a cousin to one of our Uganda-CAN volunteers, has been through a lot. She sells cooked food with her elder sister in the evening. As the night draws on, they shift to another place, which is in the market. She says, “Some of the people are bad, I serve them but when it comes to paying, it as if they are doing you a favour. They use a bad language, some want to sexually abuse you and this really kills my urge to work.” She went on to say that her fellow people at school laugh at her. By the time she finishes work, she is too tired to do any homework or study. Thus, haunted by her experiences with the LRA, she has continued to perform poorly at school.

The children are really hit. These and many more stories only reveal a small part of the whole story of the war in northern Uganda. This coming month, we at the Uganda Conflict Action Network are calling on churches to condemn this horrifying spirituality and assent to a spirituality of hope, peace and justice. We are launching a Prayer and Action Weekend for these children and all those in northern Uganda September 23-25 and we ask everyone to participate.

In a report released Tuesday, UNICEF concludes that the education sector was one of the casualties of the longstanding war in northern Uganda. An estimated 25% of children of primary school age are out ot school as a result of the war. Reuters AlertNet reports on the harsh consequences the war has had on education, and how such consequences will leave a generation lost.

Reuters AlertNet today features a special look at the fear faced by children in northern Uganda who are forced to "night commute" to escape LRA abductions at night. The feature includes accounts from children who walk miles every night to sleep on the streets in order to escape the insecurity of rural areas. Read the accounts of children at Reuters AlertNet.

In the latest edition of Peace Journalism, an independent e-magazine, there is a featured article about the difficulties of rehabilitating former child soldiers in northern Uganda. The article tells the story of Patrick, one boy in northern Uganda who was abducted and escaped twice from the Lord's Resistance Army. Read Patrick's story at Peace Journalism.

Today's Daily Monitor includes the horrifying tales of reintegration, rehabilitation and trauma faced by a society where thousands of children have been abducted and forced to kill.

The article begins, "Richard Opio was 13 when he was abducted from his Lagoli village by Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. The rebels forced him to tie each of his parents to a tree and beat them to death. If he didn't follow the order, he would be killed. His mother told him to do what he had been told to save his life. His father stood quiet." Keep reading by clicking here.

Adrian Bradbury, one of the organizers of last month's Gulu Walk in Toronto, writes a powerful editorial about child "night commuters" in northern Uganda in yesterday's National Post.

Bradbury writes, "Every night, as many as 40,000 children, some as young as five years old, walk for hours from their rural villages into major urban centres so that they can sleep in relative safety. In the morning, they retrace their steps in hope of returning in time to attend school and do their daily chores."

In October, Uganda-CAN plans to partner with the Gulu Walk team in Toronto to hold a worldwide day of walks to advocate for an end to the kidnapping and abductions of northern Uganda.

David Blair of the Weekly Telegraph reports today on the the mass child soldiering that has become a reality in northern Uganda's war of nearly two decades.