Children – the innocent victims of violence.

We hear everyday about children who are victims of violence and it is sad to know that today is the same. I was directed to a news report by a friend who works in the area in the report and what i read was saddening and disturbing.  Here is part of the news report:

Nyamyezi and Kaitabigere villages in Nyankwanzi sub-county, Kyenjojo district, after a young man hacked to death five people, including his father and stepmother, on Tuesday evening.  In a gruesome attack, 5 people aged: 75, 35, 35, 16 & 14.

After the murder of the mother and the two oldest sons, the family is now headed by 12-year-old Alex Akampulira. He has to look after his three siblings of nine, six and three years.

The youngest children are in the picture below:

9, 6 and 3 yrs of age, left to be looked after by a 12 yr old.

These children require help to support them through a local non profit in Uganda. you can contact the non profit by emailing me freeuganda@care2.com and i will give further information as i receive it.

This is such a sad story of yet more children being the innocent victims of violence. I hope that you, the world, can open your hearts and help. Full Report Here

Pictures remain the property of NewVision or their respective owners.

Christmas – A time for Giving…

So here it is again, that time of year when everyone is out there rushing around trying to figure out what to buy their friends or family for christmas. Me, i just don’t get it, why do we spend hundreds of dollars on toys that sit in toy boxes and barely get used cuz they simply  have “too much” to play with!? I honestly don’t see the point anymore, i’d find myself tearing my hair out with all these toys everywhere, yet they didnt get played with more like just dumped out of the box in the never ending search for something else!

So this year ive decided to change my ways of buying for my family. I’m giving a gift of sustainability, a gift that in turn keeps on giving. There are so many of these gifts right under your nose and you probably don’t even know it!

Support a great non profit and shop in their store! However, always remember THERE IS a DIFFERENCE between a Charity and a Non Profit!

So to get you started here are some great tips on places to give a great gift yet it keeps on giving through programs implemented by the organisations.

Invisible Children – Check out this cool store for Dvd’s & Bracelets, Cool Tshirts, Beanies, Scarves, Bags, Books & More. Each $$ goes back into on the ground programs to help those affected by war in Northern Uganda

Compassion – Gifts of Compassion – A great way to support a person in need.

All For Charity – A range of Items with 100% of Royalties going to either Invisible Children or Betty (Child headed household in Uganda)

Shop Sea Shepherd – Give a great gift and give our Whales a head start this Whaling Season! Awesome Shirts (Check out Whale Wars on Animal Planet!)

Thats just to mention a few.  This Christmas remember, that yes its nice to give a gift to the ones we love but no need to over do it, remember there are over 1 billion hungry people right now, so whilst your shovelling down the lovely christmas day lunch, take time out to thank those around you for your good fortune and to remember those who are less fortunate that yourself. A gift to a stranger can bring more happiness than you can imagine.

Hope you all have a lovely Christmas time.

ch-ch-ch-changes!!

So i’ve finally decided!! I’m submitting my application to University of Western Sydney for Bachelor of Social Sciences Peace and Development!  It was a tough decision between that and Bachelor of Communications Journalism but i finally decided. I think it would be a great thing to be formally trained in an area i am passionate in. I’m really looking forward to going to University, as i really never thought i would get a chance to do it.

Through volunteering with Invisible Children i have uncovered a side of me that id never really knew existed. I want to continue to expand, grow and further my knowledge so i can in turn be of more help to those who require it the most.

So…Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes are in the air for me and my life and i really am excited. I’m going to apply to start mid year so that way i have around 6 months to get my medication settled and hopefully all my ongoing tests done and be cleared for start June 2010!

Sponsors Needed for African Volunteer Trip

Hi Everyone. I am seeking sponsors to help send me go on my Volunteer Trip to Northern Uganda. CLICK HERE to visit my Sponsorship Page

During my time in Uganda i will be visiting what is left of the Displacement Camps in Northern Uganda as well as spending some volunteer time in the Invisible Children office in Gulu. and the Compassion centre in Kaboywa and visiting the Northern Ugandan Villages that are currently being rebuilt.

Northern Uganda has been rocked by a raging war over the last 23 years and peace is only now starting to return to Northern Uganda. These people have been in displacement camps since approx 1996 and require help, councelling, food and much more to re-start their lives in their old villages. visit www.invisiblechildren.com to watch the documentary and see what they are doing for the people of Uganda.

Travelling Between June – December 2011 and staying for 3/6 weeks.

I am currently a volunteer for Invisible Children Australia and sponsor 6 children Uganda as well. I am aiming to spend 3-6 weeks in Uganda doing volunteer work and expanding my knowledge on the area and affected persons so that i can fully understand the needs of these people to help continue to commit myself to the Invisible children cause as Company Secretary for IC AUS – All Australian positions are volunteer only and we are not employed by Invisible Children or receive any monetary goods or cash for our actions.

As a mother of 3 children myself i am currently unable to cover all the costs associated with getting the tickets and travel arrangements covered as well as the associated costs with the camera’s and such to be able to document this journey for my sponsors. I have been a volunteer my whole life with my parents through Lions Club International but have found my own calling in invisible children.

I will be documenting my journey through Uganda through video and pictures. I have created the website FreeUganda and currently run this as well as the twitter page @freeuganda and a blog as well as run the offical Invisible Children OZ Twitter @InvisibleOZ and i also run ALL FOR CHARITY store with 100% of profits are donated.

Each sponsorship amount is greatly appreciated and i urge you all to join up to FreeUganda to check out what is going on in Uganda and the status of sponsorship etc.

I Thank you kindly for your sponsorship as without your support i will not be able to fulfill this mission in my life.

Free Shipping for AU!

Thats right!! Until 10/12 you can get FREE SHIPPING to AU when you purchase over $45 worth of products from our store.

All For Charity

Remember! 100% of the royalties on each item made is donated to either: Invisible Children, The Coalition (to stop the use of) Child Soldiers and to a Child Headed Family in Uganda of 5 Children – You can view more details here re: betty and her family.

All these items have been created to raise awareness whilst the royalties go to great non-profits or direct to betty (via joy for children uganda) to help where needed.

If you go through our webstore via the link above and purchase something from someone else’s store, we ill be paid a referral fee for this and in turn any and all referral fee’s we receive we will pass onto Betty in Uganda/Invisible Children.

So far we have made in Royalties $45 and this will be donated at the end of December 2009. To give you an idea we make between 0.40c and $7.50 royalties depending on the item.

I want to thank everyone who has purchased items from this store, your helping to bring awareness to those around you and also helping those who are far away.

THANK YOU

Journal Entry – November 12, 2009

So i’ve kinda neglected my journals a bit lately as ive been quite busy at work and home. I’m finishing my job in December of this year and moving further up the NSW coast to be near Newcastle due to my health issues with being a hypothyroidism.

So lately what i’ve been doing is not as much as i normally do but that will all change again soon.  Ive been steady on twitter with both the official Invisible Children AUS Account and my own personal one. Designing shirts and stuff for the All For Charity Store and spending some overdue quality time with my kiddies. Also don’t forget to visit my website FreeUganda

Ill update my journal shortly with things i’ve done over the past month, highlights if you will of things attended, people met etc.

I really thank you all for following what i do and would ask that this Christmas, give the gift of giving! purchase something from a non profit or agency that supports those in need, a gift that keeps on giving! In such hard economic times we need to stand together and support the missions of change happening all around the world. Change can come, but it requires perseverance and dedication. are you dedicated?

All For Charity store just got even better!

My All For Charity store has just gotten even better at supporting Africa.  Our range has now gone EDUN LIVE – a great range of African farmed cotton and made tshirts. Information as below:

From EDUN LIVE, the Adam Organic t-shirt is super comfy and ultra soft. A straight-fit tee, its 100% Ecocert certified organic, ring-spun African cotton, combed for comfort (145g.) Tumble dry low. (Not pre-washed). Washes like a dream. Made in Uganda using sustainable manufacturing practices.

From EDUN LIVE, the Eve Organic t-shirt is ultra soft. A straight-fit tee, it’s 100% Ecocert certified organic, ring-spun African cotton, combed for comfort (145g.) Reinforced stitching. Tumble dry low. (Not pre-washed). Washes like a dream. Made in Uganda using sustainable manufacturing practices.

So feel great knowing that not only are the profits of the shirts going back to those in Uganda – (betty’s family and Invisible Children) but also the shirts themselves are sustaining those in Uganda!

LRA Rebel raids ’spreading in Congo’

The situation in northern Democratic Republic of Congo where Lord’s Resistance Army rebels operate is getting worse, a medical charity says.

Medecins Sans Frontieres told the BBC hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing renewed rebel attacks.

LRA leader Joseph Kony once operated from Uganda but his fighters now cover a vast area of central Africa.

Analysts says attempts this year by regional armed forces to halt the brutal campaign have so far failed.

The armies of Uganda, southern Sudan and DR Congo have been carrying out offensives against the rebels since Mr Kony refused to sign a peace deal late last year.

The rebels are infamous for carrying out mutilations and have kidnapped tens of thousands of children to be fighters and sex slaves.

Tens of thousands of people have also been made homeless during the LRA’s two-decade insurgency.

‘Living in fear’

MSF says roads in northern DR Congo are now so insecure that aircraft are being used to take supplies and staff to remote locations.

“The situation is really bad: the people are living in constant fear, they’re fleeing,” MSF’s Operational Director Meine Nicolai told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.

“The violence pops up in different areas and it’s really expanding. It came to Congo in 2008 and now it’s going more and more eastwards so the area is expanding and people live in constant fear.”

Ms Nicolai said civilians were being targeted.

“People are kidnapped, raped, their houses are burned; they’re fleeing, they leave everything and there’s no way that they can return.”

She said people desperately need food, water, medical care and psychological support.

Reports from the region suggest there are several groups of LRA fighters: some in DR Congo and another 1,300-strong force in the Central African Republic, led by one of Mr Kony’s deputies.

Mr Kony himself is reportedly moving northwards, with reports suggesting Ugandan special forces are using helicopters to attack his group from Yambio in southern Sudan.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says there are also suggestions, yet to be confirmed, that Mr Kony’s aim is to take his forces into the Sudanese region of South Darfur.

Last year Mr Kony, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity,

failed to sign a peace deal with the Uganda government brokered by southern Sudan.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Hospitals treat patients like animals!

So last night i rushed my boyfriend up to the local hospital as he had been vomiting all day long and was in a whole load of pain in the stomach area due to the vomiting, cramping and such and has a history of a swollen pancreas.

We arrived there around 7ish by 7.30 he had bloods taken and had started vomiting again within the emergency dept (not wait room), they took him out of an observation room and placed him in a room full of Recliner chairs.  whilst in the room he was continuing to vomit and doubled over in pain, a nurse came to put the drip in his arm with some anti-vomiting agent, whilst she was there she said to him when he was cramping and trying to vomit, “oh don’t try and force yourself to vomit” between wretches he told her it was his body automatically doing it and he had no control to stop it, so she grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back into the chair, he said to her “hey i cant sit back my stomach is cramping it hurts” she continued to shove until he sat back so she could put the drip in, she couldnt just wait until he stopped wretching?  not long later he went to do his urine sample and started vomiting again in the bathroom, this time vomiting blood and having extreme crampin in the stomach area. i went over to the nurses station and tried to ask a question of the nurse and found 2 nurses standing around talking about mobile fone providers, i stood there waiting for a few mins and neither of them made any attempt to ask me if i needed help, i then saw a nurse walking around and asked her if they could get someone to help him and get him a bed as he was vomiting up blood and in severe pain, in reply she said “he has been seen by the nurse, we have done all we can he will have to wait his turn” so i replied “meanwhile, he rips the lining of his stomach whilst vomiting as there is nothing to vomit up.” at around 8pm i again asked them if they could find a bed for him as he was still in extreme pain and needed to lay down,  i had never seen him in such agony, he was crying in pain and on and off the chair and onto the floor as he needed to lay flat due to the cramping in the stomach and sitting up was putting strain on his stomach area.

By 9.20 he was still on and off the floor as he needed to lay down and i had seen enough of my boyfriend having to lay on a dirty hospital floor to gain some relief of his pain and discomfort, so i started to record him laying on the floor in the room and walked out of the room he was in to record the empty beds in the emergency bed area.  at first i had seen 6 empty beds, by the time i went with the video camera i could see and access 3 but had nurses watching me and couldnt get access to film the other empty beds, i was then followed by a nurse and told id have to wait in the waiting room, i said no im staying with my partner as he is sick and she again said no you will have to leave. i again repeated “im not leaving without my partner, he is sick and laying on the floor” she then states she will call security and have me removed from the hospital because i was filming people/ “i replied im not filming anybody….and then had to  stop recording:  My sentence ended “im not filming anybody im filming my partner and the empty beds to prove your treating him like an animal after our requests for a bed.

I stood and complained as to why i was being asked to leave and she said cuz i was filming in the hospital and this was not allowed. i stated there were no signs and i had no knowledge of this and that was not good enough, the security by this time had arrived and asked the nurse what she wanted, she told them i had to leave the hospital. so they evicted me from the hospital, in protest i tossed a foam cup of ice in the air and stormed out (security closely following me) letting ppl in emergency waiting area know they had a man on the floor in pain and refused to get him a bed when they had empties.

outside i was laughed at by staff and security and being so distressed i yelled at them for laughing, i had the security guards then cross the car drive area and threaten to have me arrested if i did not leave and i refused and said id call the police myself after he got up in my face whilst i was on the phone to my mother who was looking after both keith’s and my children (we have 2 together and 1 each from previous relationship)

i immediately called channel 10 and spoke with reporter Harry. i have sent them the video footage.

I then called the police and waited until after 11pm for them to arrive(outside in the car park), even the cop agreed with me and shared her personal experience of mistreatment of her father at blacktown hospital.  When she went in to deliver him his fone she said he was still in the same chair and no bed had been given to him.

After speaking with the police i headed home and emailed the footage to channel 10.

at 1.20am i called the hospital and found out he was still in the same chair and awaiting results of bloods they took at 8am.  He told me at 2am he was finally given a bed to lay down in and some pain medication and an injection that put him to sleep for a few hours. Upon awaking at 6am he was told he was being discharged. He got home at 8.50am this morning, still pale and pasty and not well, no energy, can barely walk etc with a letter saying he presented with Severe Pain, Vomiting etc.  They also noted that he denied any alcohol or drug abuse…are they insinuating that he is an addict or junkie? I had overheard all night nurses making statements about him and walking past him laying on the floor , they giggled and said things to the effect ” oh dont worry ive seen him here before like this…..” i couldnt clearly make out all of the rest of sentence but it wasnt nice .  From my opinion they labelled him a junkie as he has 2 broken and severely rotted teeth in the front of his mouth, yet if they check his medical records, he acutally presented at blacktown hospital with 2 broken teeth and a broken nose in the 90’s due to being hit in a bar fight!

Im so disgusted in the treatment of my partner and would appreciate any comments of your treatments at any hospitals within australia as im defianately taking this further.

At his request i have made the video a private only viewable file. I am keeping hold of this for further action. Thank you.

UPDATE:  He was discharged on Wednesday Morning with a letter stating he was in SEVERE Pain and vomiting. Denies any take away foods, alcohol or drug abuse. a copy of blood tests was enclosed and blood tests were all normal.  No Scanns or Ultrasounds were given to him at this time at blacktown hospital.  His first set of blood tests taken had been lost and they had to retake bloods, i am unsure of the time this was done as i was already evicted from the hospital and hnim was so overcome in pain and exhaustion had no idea as to what time after i left things happened, only that they advised him someone called at around 1.30am and 2pm he was given a bed to lay in and sometime (unsure of time) afterwards a shot in the bum to sleep with some pain killers. When he awoke around 6am they said they were discharging him as they could not find anything wrong….well no wonder when they dont do anything except a blood test, not everything comes up in a blood test!

UPDATE: he has heard nothing back from the head of hospital as at 30/11/09

S. Sudan struggles over LRA attacks

Attacks attributed to Ugandan-led rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have killed at least 188 civilians and displaced 68,000 in Southern Sudan since January 2009, with 137 abductions also reported, according to the UN.

“Many innocent people are losing their lives every week, and the United Nations is very concerned about the killing, abduction, maiming and displacement of innocent civilians,” said Ameerah Haq, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan.

In Sudan, Western Equatoria State has been hardest hit by the recent upsurge in attacks blamed on the LRA, which have also taken place in several regions in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Very unfair

“During the last six weeks alone, 11 incidents of LRA attacks have been reported, seven of them in the first week of September,” Mr Haq told reporters on September 11 during a visit to Yambio, the state capital of Western Equatoria.

In Nairobi, Mr Justin Labeja, the head of the LRA’s peace negotiating team, questioned the authorship of the attacks.

“It is very unfair because nobody can come up with clear concrete evidence. Who can say this is the LRA of (leader Joseph) Kony who is doing this?” he said.

What the “real LRA” is any more is hard to pin down. When it emerged in northern Uganda in the late 1980s the LRA was made up almost exclusively of people from the region’s Acholi community, fighting perceived marginalisation.

The LRA now includes nationals from Sudan, the DRC and CAR – many as a result of recruitment-by-abduction. In Southern Sudan “LRA” has been used as a catch-all label for any armed group which attacks civilians.

However, those displaced by the latest attacks reported tactics which bore the hallmarks of the LRA, including grotesque killings and targeting church congregations.

Combating the small groups of guerrillas – experienced in jungle warfare and able to slip across international frontiers with apparent ease – has become a hard task.

Providing food

“There is not much coming from the (Sudanese) state, they are not able to provide the security that they (people) need,” said Mr Haq.

“While the humanitarian community is providing food and other non-food items, the food itself is becoming a magnet for LRA attacks… The answer to that is really how we can provide security around a perimeter.”

Extra troops from the south’s military, the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), have been sent to the region, according to spokesman Maj-Gen Kuol Diem Kuol.

“We are working hard and doing all we can to ensure the safety of civilians in the region,” he explained.

The main military force are Ugandan troops, whose soldiers have established camps in Sudan to try and hunt down the now mobile LRA units in Southern Sudan, DRC and CAR.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has just 200 blue helmets based in the sprawling region of Western Equatoria.

Officials said the force has been stretched by a string of recent violent inter-ethnic clashes elsewhere in Southern Sudan.

Its mandate, one official added, needed to be beefed up by the UN Security Council to allow active military engagement against the LRA.

“We need an integrated approach to really provide security to these people, [and] that will require the support of the UN and UNMIS,” said Jemma Nunu Kumba, the governor of Western Equatoria.

“UNMIS needs to get involved just like MONUC (the UN peacekeeping mission) in Congo (DRC), to be able to repulse the rebels when they are attacking the civilians,” he added.

‘’The LRA will remain a problem and we will be unable to go home until pressure is really put on them by all sides’’

Those displaced by the LRA say more effort is needed, not simply to hunt the rebels, but to provide security that would allow people to return to their homes.

“The LRA have killed our people, and they took two of my children,” said Karina Zeferino, who fled after attacks in August on her hometown of Ezo, close to Sudan’s border with CAR.

She trekked the 155km to Yambio town with her remaining young daughter.

After the attacks, peacekeepers airlifted UN staff and aid workers from Ezo by helicopter, shutting down international humanitarian work in that area.

“People are suffering, but we cannot go home because the LRA will attack again,” added Zeferino, holding her child tightly to her side. “There is no help for us there, so that is why we have come to Yambio, but it is hard here too.”

“The LRA will remain a problem and we will be unable to go home until pressure is really put on them by all sides,” said Gaaniko Bate, a leader of the ever-growing Makpandu camp in Southern Sudan, which hosts some 2,530 refugees from DRC.

“These people will not be easily stopped,” he added. (IRIN)

As reported on Nation.co.ke