The Voice Project
Monday, 19. April 2010 9:00
War has ravaged Uganda for over two decades now. It is an incredibly sad situation made even sadder by the fact that the LRA, the militant group fighting the government, uses children as its main weapon of war – children who have been abducted and forced to fight. The children are forced to commit all kinds of atrocities even killing their friends and family members. Many abductees and former soldiers are able to escape, but when they do they are afraid to come home because of the acts they were forced to commit.
The women of Northern Uganda – widows, rape survivors and former abductees – have been banding together to support each other and those orphaned by the war and prevalent disease. And they are singing. They are singing songs to let the former soldiers know they are forgiven and should come home – songs that are passed by word of mouth and by radio out into the bush. And it’s working. Former LRA are returning and for the first time the area has a real chance at peace
The Voice Project aims at amplifying the voices of these women and to spread them far and wide to help raise awareness and support for the former abductees and the for the area as a whole. If you visit the site you can see videos of the women and former abductees singing, you can read abductees’ stories and see the programs that are being put in place to help this area. You can also see videos of some great artists who heard about the cause and are lending their support by also singing – singing various covers to help raise money for peace. It is an amazing project, doing amazing work. You can check it out further here. In the meantime, here are a couple of videos from the site for you to enjoy – one of the women of Uganda themselves and one of a great Beatles cover performed by The Submarines.
“Home” in Gulu from The Voice Project on Vimeo.
The Submarines ยป The Beatles from The Voice Project on Vimeo.
