Evaline is the closest I've ever gotten to Oprah.
The talk show queen had a segment on the war in northern Uganda a while back and Evaline, am LRA abduction victim who suffered a mouth wound, was brought to the audience. She was brought to the United States for surgery on her mouth by a former Fox television producer named Cori Stern, who has become an activist on numerous African child issues. Jennifer was in Indiana for nearly two years and just came back in December. I figured she would be a good person to talk to to see how Jennifer's adjustment might go. Evaline had her problems. School was tougher in Uganda; some kids at her private boarding school were mean. She seems to be doing much better now, though she just recovered from malaria and typhoid -- two frighteningly common diseases here.
After leaving Evaline, we went to a village where people were coming home to because there is enough security now. People still were nervous that the ceasefire would break and the rebels attacks would renew. Still, life in their camp was lousy. It was crowded and the sanitation was, well, it was absent. Lots of kids got sick. They were happy to be in an area with space, close to their homes they had fled years ago, and accessible to their gardens. But the harvests haven't come yet and the government, which is encouraging people to return home if it is safe, gave them little or nothing to rebuild their villages and their lives. They need everything, but they managed to build homes and they are strong and intelligent. I hope they get the assistance they need and deserve.
