Gulu - DK Gallery - October 2009

In October 2009 I held my first photography exhibit at DK Gallery in Parkdale to fund-raise for an area of the world called "Gulu" because I wanted to help bring awareness to the situation there.  These images are from my time in the displacement camps. 

For over two decades Joseph Kony and the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) have terrorized Northern Uganda as a way to challenge the Ugandan Government.  Over 30,000 children have been abducted to be used as child soldiers and sex slaves.   The UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland has described the crisis in Northern Uganda as "the world's worst forgotten humanitarian crisis".  In order to protect the northern residents the Ugandan government confined people to protected villages leaving millions of people displaced in camps living with a constant threat of attack in some of the worst conditions imaginable.   One out of every four adults in the Gulu region have been abducted at some point in their lives.

Today, Northern Uganda is in the process of healing and Joseph Kony and the LRA have moved on to terrorize other regions of Africa.  There have been many failed attempts to stop him.

When I visited Gulu in 2007 the displacement camps were in the process of being eliminated and the residents were being moved to satellite camps closer to their 'homes' in order to begin working again.  They were still under the protection of the Ugandan Army even though the threat of the LRA was supposedly over.  The imprint of the terror that the LRA has inflicted will be something that will visible in this area of the world for decades to come.

Organizations such as Gulu Walk and Invisible Children have brought the worlds attention to this area and have helped to make change but the residents of Gulu still need your support.  Please contact me for more information.  If you are interested in my images for a fundraiser or information session please let me know.