Amplified!

Hope is reflected in their eyes. Faces stretch into grins, laughter soars through the air. A young women pulls her toddler in close for a gentle hug. Girls - teenagers - play a friendly game of soccer in the afternoon sun.

Finally, a light shining in the darkness.

For the child mothers of northern Uganda, there was no hope before ChildVoice International. Only rejection. Pain. Hunger. Fear for themselves and their children. The haunting reminders of their past.

These young women were abducted as children by the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel force that has waged a 22-year civil war in northern Uganda. They were beaten, raped, abused and enslaved. When they finally escaped the rebels, they didn't have homes or villages or families to return to. And though they were still children themselves, they were now mothers also, responsible for their own children.

Today, 29 child mothers and their 36 children are living in a sanctuary, the ChildVoice Centre in Lukodi. Here they have beds to sleep in, clothing to wear that's not tattered and torn. Three meals a day - a new experience for many of them. They are resuming their education which had stopped abruptly when they were abducted. Vocational training and counseling gives them hope for the future. And their children - many of whom were born in the bush - now spend their days in early childhood development classes intended to help them heal and grow.

Many more child mothers and their children are waiting for the future ChildVoice International can provide with your help.