Ugandan bishop appeals for women of the world to rise up

The Bishop of Northern Uganda, Bishop Nelson, urged women to rise up in revolt at the wars which are mutilating our world.

‘If we can strengthen the hands of women they can do this’, he said.

Bishop Nelson is well-known for his work at trying to bring peace and reconciliation in the conflict between the Ugandan government and the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by Joseph Kony.

The Army is accused of horrendous atrocities against men, women and children, and approximately 25,000 children have been abducted to fight with the guerrillas.

The Mother’s Union in Uganda is working hard to try and educate some of the children who escape from the LRA, many of whom end up sleeping on the streets.

Many of those taken in by the Mother’s Union are girls who are being taught skills which will help them support their families.

In villages across northern Uganda, most of the men are simply missing, having run away because they fear being abducted or killed by the LRA.

Women are left to try and support their families and keep communities going, he said.

Bishop Nelson said: ‘It became quite clear to me that women are the key to solving conflicts, if you look in the Bible it has always been the case: it was the women who saved Moses, for example.

‘It is women who can transform the world we live in today.

‘The world today is violent, there is strife and conflict from Uganda to the UK.  It is far better to strengthen the hand of a woman than anyone else: she influences children and her community.’

The Bishop is hoping to start a mentoring scheme in his diocese to teach mediation and leadership skills to youngsters, but at the moment he has no funding.

Some 95% of his population has been displaced and while the church is still strong, it has little capacity to fund-raise, said Revd Willy Akena, the diocesan information officer.

The delegation were over in the UK to speak at Greenbelt and the Bishop’s wife, Brenda Onono Onweng, also addressed Kidlington Mother’s Union on the subject of women and conflict.