Praying at Gulu

Prayin at Gulu

The young woman who was the model for this painting lives in Gulu, Uganda, E.A. She is around 17 years old. She has never known anything but war. The war that she lives with has been going on in Northern Uganda for over 20 years. Currently there are over 1 million internally displaced persons living in camps with horrible conditions in the area. The Gulu region is bordered on the North by the Southern Sudan. While it is not the same war, the causes are the same. It is a very dangerous place to grow up. the war is primarily being waged against children. The young boys are abducted and brainwashed into being soldiers for the LRA. The young girls are taken as sex slaves. Many are sold as sex slaves to merchants from the North of Sudan. The leader of the LRA, a monster named Kony believes that he is the Holy Spirit apparently and that his terrorist practices are therefore acts of God.

April and I were able to be in Gulu because of the kind assistance of The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, the most reverend Henry Luke Orembi. We were able to travel with him and others to Gulu in February, 2004 as he was traveling with military escort. The photo from which I painted this was taken by me at a joint prayer service where we prayed for peace in the region. the service was conducted jointly by the Catholic and the Anglican Archbishops of Uganda.

The origional of this painting is in a private collection. Prints are available. The origional is about 15"x 22". Please mail me: alan@missionarywatercolors.com.