androgynousblackgirl:

Ugandans haven’t been sitting on their asses doing nothing about Kony and the LRA rebels for the past 20 years. This war has lasted over 2 decades and it’s disrespectful to the countrymen & women who’ve actually been doing something about this war all along, even before this viral campaign, to see comments like,”we should let the Ugandans fight their own battles”…”why did the kids let themselves be abducted?”.

Trust me; if we had the resources that the western world had, we would’ve dealt with this war on our own, we don’t want anymore hidden agenda-attached aid to be held over our heads. We’re happy about the campaign, it’s great exposure, it’s a good cause but i also wanted to pay homage to a strong Ugandan lady who was one of the pioneers of the fight against Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army; Betty Bigombe.

In 1988, President Yoweri Museveni appointed her “Minister of State for Pacification of Northern Uganda, Resident in Gulu,” a post in which she was tasked with convincing the LRA rebels to give up their struggle.Unable to convince any other government members to go with her, including her own aides, Betty Bigombe set off North to hear the Acholi grievances and find a way to bring hope in a hopeless and hurting land. Her journey took her through mined roads, past destroyed military vehicles and deep into the jungles where abducted child soldiers stood guard in the bushes with Ak-47’s. Fearing she would not return alive, she sent letters to her children and the president expressing her last will that her children be given education and care.Following the failure of military efforts to defeat the rebels, Bigombe initiated contact with rebel leader Joseph Kony in June 1993. This began what would be known as the “Bigombe talks”. Read more of Betty Bigombe’s full inspirational story AND watch Betty’s 2008 PBS interview

(via thislondonchick)