This war needs a voice
The conditions in IDP camps in Uganda are incredibly isolating. Families and friends have been separated by decades of war and have been effectively stranded in camps hundreds of kilometres away from one another.
Fr. Joe Okumu, a Ugandan priest, human rights activist and representative of Caritas Catholic Charities in Gulu, teamed up with US-based organisation Bosco (Battery Operated Systems for Community Outreach) and Inveneo Communication Stations to deliver internet connectivity to the camps in Northern Uganda. They hoped that internet access would open up the closed world in which the camp dwellers were trapped. Internet connectivity has also enabled more development organisations to work in the region to help the people displaced by war.
Since March 2007 internet access has been available in seven IDP camps, with plans to extend the network to an additional 73 IDP camps.
This Uganda/Australia Linkup project is about facilitating dialogue between the survivors of war, and a generation of young people who have the power to make a real difference. This is about connecting people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, and generating new ideas about how to protect people from armed conflict and displacement.