Student’s Internship Helps Ugandans
For Brett Lashley (CAS’08), a recent internship sparked his interest in the impact of war on Uganda’s children
When Brett Lashley (CAS’08) interned last summer for Voices for Global Change (VFGC), he became interested in the impact of the war in northern Uganda on the region’s children.
The not-for-profit organization provides support for those who have been unable to fully participate in the economic, political, and social life of their communities and countries, especially women and children.
Encouraged by his internship mentor, Lashley wrote a report about the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and its impact on northern Uganda’s youth. Many Ugandan children live in extreme poverty and have a high level of illiteracy. The LRA takes advantage of their plight, convincing them to fight. Over the course of the conflict, 80 percent of the LRA’s fighters have been children. “Once the war ends, Uganda has the potential to serve as a model for African post-conflict reconstruction, but much will depend upon how it addresses the needs of its youth,” Lashley writes.
Lashley’s paper appears on the Web site of Paper to Pearls, a VFGC initiative that helps women in the refugee camps of northern Uganda sell their hand-woven paper necklaces.
Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu.
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