Ugandan government recognizes Karomoja problem

I just got a news article from ECM's Uganda Director. The Minister of Gender in Uganda has asked the authorities to set up check points along the Karamoja-Kampala route to curb child trafficking. The government is aware of the problem of children being sold into slavery (some in the cattle markets!) and ending up begging on the streets of Kampala for someone else's benefit.

I encountered that myself a few years back. I was in a Christian bookstore that has a place to sit and read in front of big windows. Looking out on the street, I observed a young child sitting all by herself on the sidewalk for a long time. It was obvious she was meant to be begging, but she was too young and too uncomfortable to be actively doing so. Basically she just sat there and looked pitiful. No sunshade, no water, nothing. People were just ignoring her and walking around her. I don't usually give to beggars. I've seen too much abuse resulting from well-intentioned giving. But I also felt her pain. I had some bananas, so I went out and gave her a banana, and asked my co-worker to go down the street and buy her a bottle of juice. I figured I'd stay there while she ate and drank to make sure it went into her tummy. There was no one obviously watching her that I could see, but as soon as she got the banana in her hand, a lady appeared. She said she was not the child's mother. I stayed there until the child finished the banana and the drink. I later found out that this was a child from Karamoja who was trafficked to the city to beg on the streets for a master.

I read that the government rounded up 400 of them, women and children, in the past year, and is trying to resettle them. But unless we find a way to stop the trafficking, there will be more. Lord, please allow us to start the Karamoja child sponsorship project soon!