"Acholi are proud people. We want to sweat for our food." ~Robert

Northern Uganda needs rain. "Famine" and "Drought" have been headlines in the newspaper these past few weeks that I've been here, which sparked a conversation with Robert, by partnering teacher, about the UN World Food Supply here in Gulu. There are 12 huge barns that house maize, beans, and rice for distribution in this region.

Now that it is safe for displaced villages to move back to their original locations, relief is slowing down, however the weather is not cooperating! Much of the land hasn't been farmed for as many as 20 years because the government didn't allow people to leave the camps or town centers for fear of their safety. So just when things are starting to look up for this area, they are faced with a new challenge.

I know that the war is hard for northern Ugandans to talk about, so any time Robert mentions something I try to be sensitive, but also use it as an opportunity to understand what life was truly like during the time of conflict. My heart hurt when he said, "We don't want these hand-outs Jill. We are proud people who want to sweat for our own food."

Through our conversations I learned that there is a whole generation that doesn't know peace and prosperity.

Northern Uganda needs rain.