GUSCO and Lacor (13th July)

Just a quick entry to draw your attention to two amazing organisations operating in Gulu that I visited today.

The first is GUSCO (Gulu Save the Children Organisation) which is a reception centre for former child combatants. While the number of children in the centre had significantly decreased from when I was here last, there were still about 35 kids there. I was shocked by how young most of them were – many had been born in captivity. More info is available on their website - www.gusco.org.

The second is Lacor Hospital. My first visit to Lacor in August 2003 had been heartbreaking. The beds were filled with war casualties – babies with bullet wounds, young mothers who had been paralysed by bullets, boys with amputated limbs, etc etc. This time I only found one bullet wound – a soldier had been shot in an accident. I just hope the improvement stays that way.