MyVoice

Notes from Conrad Mandsager

As America celebrates the inauguration of a new administration this week, there is a sense of renewed hope all across America, and even across the globe. In Africa, there is an amazing solidarity with Obama because of his Kenyan roots and the hope that he will leverage his position as the most powerful man in the world to bring a new focus on the issues that continue to besiege the continent.

As the gala events continue through the week in the US, it is sobering to know 7000 miles away during the very same week, there is despair spreading across the northern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have launched a new wave of violence in response to the multinational attack on their bases in northeast DRC just before Christmas. Not surprising, their camps were empty and no serious damage was inflicted on the rebel troops, but one thing was certain - the ceasefire was over and the LRA was back at war. Over the last two years, the LRA has based in the DRC where it has been able to melt into the sparsely populated dense forest of Garamba National Park, yet it remains close enough to the South Sudan and Uganda border to be able to launch attacks.

In a chilling replay of the last two decades in Uganda, the LRA has wreaked an unbelievable amount of mayhem in the last month - over 1000 people slaughtered, countless children abducted, villages, churches, and schools burned to the ground, food stores looted, and over 100,000 people displaced and hiding in the jungle in fear. Because of the remoteness of these jungle communities, over half of these displaced people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid which has been unable to reach them.

After months of hope that a peace agreement was just around the corner, the people of northern Uganda and South Sudan are watching this new development in horror and fear. Although the rebels are in DRC, they are not far from the borders of these two countries. Fortunately, it has not resulted in mass hysteria, however much of the return and resettlement activities have ground to a halt and people along the borders are moving back into the protection of the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps. The ChildVoice staff monitor the intelligence reports daily, and we have a new commitment from the district government and the Ugandan military to keep soldiers embedded in our program for security.

This stark dichotomy between the peaceful transition of government in the US and the violent fight for power in African countries like Uganda, Sudan, Congo, and Zimbabwe, to name a few, reminds us that democracy as we know it is a difficult concept to replicate. Abraham Lincoln's view of democracy, "…a government of the people, by the people, and for the people…" is not easily transplanted into regions of the world that have been ruled by dictators and despots for generations. Gnawing away at the edges are the impacts of abject poverty, lack of education, AIDS and malaria, corruption, ethnic conflict…and the list goes on.

So why bother with Africa? Where can you find hope in the midst of all these issues? As some cynics and Western leaders have said, "Let Africa solve its own problems. Aid does not work here." History is not on Africa's side on this issue. I too could easily become cynical. Growing up as a boy in Africa 50 years ago, I see very little progress from then to now. Very little seems to have changed in those five decades, despite billions of dollars of aid spent on efforts to eradicate poverty.

But if you can get beyond corrupt governments and violent conflicts and pervasive poverty, and meet Patricia, Albright, and the other girls and children at the ChildVoice Lukodi Centre, then something changes. The frustration and cynicism melt away, replaced by a sense of purpose and hope. Their laughter and their stories show the impact of our investment in them over the last year. As they describe their dreams for the future, you begin to see hope for Africa. Africa is only as strong as its people, and - every day - we are witness to the astounding strength and inspiring resiliency of Africa's next generation of leaders.