WV Children of War Rehabilitation Center

This is Elizabeth. Our group was able to visit this center that provides counseling and care for former abducted children and others who were victims of the war and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The atrocities committed against these children included rape, young marriage, servitude, forced killing, cutting off of limbs, and forcing children to be soldiers. Children were abducted from their homes over a twenty year period, so many of the children grew into adulthood in captivity.

We also heard about some of the issues these young people face as they seek to reenter the community. Because children were often used to kill or abduct other children, tensions in the villages could run very high. Often the child's community and even their own parents feared and/or mistrusted those who returned. The children must deal with their emotional and spiritual pain, including guilt and shame over the past, in addition to their physical injuries.

Though at one time the facility held many more children, now much of the work is done within the communities. There were approximately eight young men currently residing at the facility; we were able to briefly meet four of them. They had all been former members of the LRA.

It just broke my heart to think of these young men spending a decade in horror, and they represent so many more: a generation that has experienced brokenness most of us can not begin to imagine.

Praise be to the Lord who has the power to redeem all things.