Gulu's Road to Recovery

By: Tim Shoemaker

It had been over two years since I last traveled the road between Kampala and Gulu. My first journey on this road left a very long lasting impression.  Not only because of the long, bumpy, sweaty journey that makes international flights seem like a walk in the park, but also because of what the road symbolized to me.  I had never been in a place so cut off and forgotten as Gulu.  Decades of unthinkable acts of violence by a few towards the many, meant that visitors were no where to be seen and the road too unsafe to repair. 

Fast forward just two and a half years.  Instead of three trucks overturned by potholes we found as many construction sites where significant road repairs were underway. Already, there were miles and miles of new roads making for safe passage of industry, aid workers, and tourists wanting to see this great and beautiful land.  

What really makes me excited is what this means for the children that we are visiting this week.  Yes, their lives thus far have been unbearably difficult and there will continue to be many struggles.  That said, today that vastly improved road is symbolic of vastly improved lives for the people of this city.  It gives me hope that Gulu will no longer be forgotten, instead one day remembered as a place that persevered through the worst of times and emerged a wonderful place, with wonderful people, connected to the world.  This is what I am dreaming of this evening, and what I will be watching and waiting patiently for in the years to come.