For more than 20 years, much of Northern Uganda faced stark depravation and violence as the Lord’s Resistance Army ravaged the land in an effort to establish its own nation, pillaging villages and capturing its children to force them into a form of slavery, involving child sex slavery and child soldiers.About a million ended up in Internally Displaced People’s Camps until they were closed in April 2009.In addition to the destruction left in the wake of 22 years of civil war, the country of Uganda has been hard hit by the Aids epidemic. The combination has left the country with a missing generation and an abundance of orphans and child-led families; in fact, about 20 percent of all children in Uganda are believed to be orphans.In 1999, after a visit to Uganda, Christine Atcheson was led to create a ministry, Restorers of Hope, to these desperately needy children, in following with the Bible verse, James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this : to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (NASB)Today, Restorers of Hope is working in Gulu, Uganda’s second largest city, located in the north of the country, having opened its first orphanage just a year ago under the direction of Bermudian Victoria Ellison.“I’ve known Christine, going back at least 30 years,” Ms Ellison shared of her initial relationship with Restorers of Hope. However, it wasn’t until she was laid off from her job that her life began to be turned upside down. Through a strange, yet wonderful turn of events over a period of a mere 24 hours, Ms Ellison knew it was time to give up her Bermuda life to serve in Uganda.Her first trip to the war-torn country was in February 2009, when she travelled to the Gulu district to distribute tools and seeds to 700 needy families, as well as to begin research on the ground as to the process of establishing and opening an active ministry on the ground, as well as face the challenges of obtaining permission to remain in the country to work.By September 2009, she finally obtained the necessary work permit, and on November 27, the orphanage was opened with six children. A little more than a year later, there are now 30 children living in the rented building that serves as an orphanage.After the desperation left by the war, one of the biggest challenges is determining whether children truly are orphans.“The kids are taught to lie,” Ms Ellison said. As a result, four different interviews are conducted to make sure the family story is confirmed, including an interview with the family, a second surprise interview that also checks with neighbours, and a check of any school records that might exist, all before the government probations officer conducts his own interview.The children also undergo a medical and treatment is started on any conditions that the children may have.The transformation in many of the children has just been truly amazing, and the orphanage just had their first two children graduate from nursery school.In an area where most are illiterate and even the very basics education is highly prized, because the cost of education, even at public schools, is far out of reach for most families.In addition to taking in orphans, Restorers of Hope has also looked to help widows establish their own businesses to enable them to become self-sufficient and take care of their families.One such success story is that of Mama Alice, who now makes Acholi bead necklaces for sale. The beads are rolled from strips of newspaper, then painted and glazed, and used to make necklaces and bracelets. Mama Alice’s beads are available for sale in Bermuda at Serene-Tea in Hamilton, and at Fabulous Fashions in Heron Bay.While the work has started so successfully, and the team have already seen much change, there is still so much more to be done. The group hope to eventually purchase their own land within the next two to three years to build their own mini village, complete with the orphanage, a clinic, school and community centre for training widows, all centred around their own well.So many materials are still needed, as well, including additional standing water tanks for collecting water.The orphanage does not have its own well, and though it is connected to the town’s water, when it runs dry, it takes five staff three hours to collect just 700 litres of water, enough for only two days for everyone at the orphanage.Restorers of Hope are also open to welcoming volunteers for varying periods of time to help in a wide variety of ways, from carpentry and teaching skills, to simply loving on the children. They also hope to conduct a medical clinic trip in the near future.For more information on Restorers of Hope, or to find out how you can be a part of their work in Uganda, visit their website, http://coh-ug.org/