Welcome to the Gulu Prayer Project
Earlier this year, several of us were inspired by the documentary "Invisible Children" which detailed the realities of life in northern Uganda. One of our initiatives in response was the Gulu Prayer Project. For two straight weeks, 24 hours a day, people from all over the world committed to pray for this crisis. We were excited and surprised by the level of involvement we received. It was an amazing time.
Inspired by our first project, we are excited to announce our next prayer initiative. This time we will be praying for a full week, 24 hours a day. As things are improving in Uganda (very slowly), it is losing public attention. However, the need for prayer and action are as strong as ever. Starting at 6pm on September 10, 2006 and ending at 6pm on September 17th, 2006, we will be praying for this beautiful nation and its wonderful people.
So, read the info at the site, sign up to pray and tell all your friends to stop by! Prayer can make a difference, so let's do it!
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Imagine for a moment. Imagine all the children in your town, city, region marching more than 10 miles every night to neighbouring communities. Imagine tens of thousands of children sleeping in any and every possible free space, guarded by a single armed guard, doing school work by candle light, at constant risk of being abused or exploited. Imagine them getting up each morning with the sun to make the long walk home. Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. This is the reality of thousands of children in northern Uganda who make this nightly commute to escape from being kidnapped, raped and/or murdered by a militant cult.
Since 1986, northern Uganda has been ravaged by war, led by the rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). More than 250,000 lives have been lost and forced well over two million people to live in horrific conditions in camps where over 1,000 people die each week. Officially, 20,000 children in northern Uganda have been abducted by a brutal rebel army who mutilate, sexually abuse, and force their child victims to kill their parents and friends. As the kidnapping happens in small villages, this number is believed to be significantly higher in reality.
Due to the violence, kidnapping and constant threat, the children of the region- tens of thousands of them- make the nightly journey from their homes and villages to larger neighbouring cities, such as Gulu, where they sleep in any possible space to enjoy the relative safety of the larger communities. Night after night after night, these Night Commuters make the journey to the cities alone, the real risk of abuse from others, such as the army meant to protect them, still less threatening than that of the rebel army.
Sadly, for many reasons, this tragedy has not been adequately exposed to the worlds population. People are remarkably unaware of this ongoing horror story. While many world governments have been aware of this for decades, little is being done. Never before have we needed more immediate and decisive action to be taken. That is why we have created the Gulu Prayer Project.
Our first prayer project, held in March was for 2 straight weeks. 336 hours of constant prayer for the children of northern Uganda. People from all over the world signed up; some woke up at 2 or 3 a.m. and others stayed awake until midnight to pray.
Now, 3 of us at YWAM Urban Ministries Winnipeg are traveling to Uganda for 1 month. Visit our Trip to Uganda page to learn more about who we are, and what we are doing while there- and maybe even support us to get there!
The Gulu Prayer Project is an initiative of YWAM Urban Minsitries Winnipeg
