Students Capture the Peace in Northern Uganda
The guns that tormented northern Uganda fell silent in 2007, and today the region is on a fast track to recovery. For many Ugandans, however, the north remains a no-go area—often associated with Joseph Kony (the guerrilla leader), war, insecurity, disease, and hunger—and few from the south venture to the region.
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| Student photographers found a peaceful climate in northern Uganda. These women were selling foodstuffs by the roadside in Alero, Gulu District.
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Contrarily, northern Uganda is very different from what outsiders imagine. Communities are rebuilding, regional and border trade is flourishing, and for most people in the northern towns, life has settled into normal routines.
To challenge the negative perceptions overshadowing the positive strides being made in northern Uganda, USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) partnered with the Uganda Local Governments Association, an umbrella organization for all local governments in the country, to coordinate a photography campaign. The collaboration enlisted student photographers from the country's universities, and teams of students armed with professional-grade cameras traversed the countryside, capturing shots of the amazing recovery and development initiatives that are underway across the northern districts.
Before her team traveled to the north, Catherine Lunyolo, a student at the Islamic University in Uganda, was worried; she had heard disconcerting stories about northern Uganda. Yet when she saw children playing and people busy in their gardens and going about everyday activities, she realized that the newspapers haven't been telling the whole story. "I hadn't been to Acholi before [the campaign] and this experience has surely been an eye opener," she said.
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| A student captures a moment during the OTI-supported campaign.
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The photos are meant to tell a story of a region that not only has put the long-running conflict behind it but also is fully embracing trade, community rehabilitation, and reconciliation. The photos have been exhibited across the country, including in Kampala, and are changing attitudes about the region.
"I hope the photo exhibition will help portray my experience and open up northern Uganda to the rest of the country the way it did for me," Lunyolo said.
For further information, please contact the USAID Africa Bureau.
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