|PIC1|Christian Aid ambassador and Brit award-winning singer Lemar recently travelled to Uganda with Christian Aid to see its HIV and Aids projects and life-saving climate change initiatives in Uganda, and meet with victims of the devastating 21-year civil war.

His visit to the country was a highlight of Christian Aid Week this week, Britain's longest-running fundraising week which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Part of his trip took in a visit to a Youth With a Mission schooling project in Soroti, eastern Uganda, where YWAM is currently educating young boys on HIV. While visiting the Orongo High School he was serenaded by pupils with poems and songs before meeting two teenagers orphaned by HIV, Emmanuel and Nimulod.

"There was ignorance in the community about the causes and effect of HIV and what it is," Lemar reflected, "and YWAM fills a very basic need that is so vital."

The singer also went to camps occupied by those displaced during Uganda's devastating civil war. There he spoke with the parents of some of the 20,000 children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army. The children were forced to fight for them or, in the case of girls, were forced to become the 'wives' of the rebel commanders.

Some of the abducted children are now returning to their communities where they have to learn all over again how to live among the people that they were trained for so long to hate and to kill.

In Gulu, the LRA abducted 139 schoolgirls from their dormitories, prompting some of the grieving parents to establish the Concerned Parents Association. Lemar met one of those parents, Phoebe Okello, whose daughter escaped from the LRA after eight years.

"Phoebe's situation made me realise how complex things are," he said. "On one hand, the rebels took her daughter and she was angry but after eight years away, her daughter has had a child by them and fought for them.

"Now all these children are coming home, having been forced to do terrible things, and everyone needs to move on. That's why the talk of forgiving is so strong."

Other Christian Aid work in Uganda is focused on helping Ugandans adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

Calvin Oboi and his family faced devastation last year when the rains failed, decimating their sorghum and cassava crops.

This year, Christian Aid's partner TEDDO has provided different seeds to Calvin to produce different crops that are less reliant on rainfall.
"The seeds TEDDO provided were of great assistance to us," Calvin told Lemar. "From what we planted, my family and I soon had enough to eat and then sell to other farmers. We have been able to make enough money to build a house."

This was Lemar's second visit to Africa with Christian Aid, having previously visited Ethiopia to see the charity's humanitarian projects in 2005.

The visits have had such a profound effect on him that he has mentioned the charity's work on his album sleeve and tour programme, and also written reflections for his website. A programme on his visit to Uganda with Christian Aid was broadcast on GMTV yesterday.

"I saw some amazing projects supported by Christian Aid in Uganda. Projects which are helping people come together after a civil war, others which work on dealing with climate change and education for kids affected by HIV," said Lemar.

"One year at school for one of these kids costs 36 quid. Money for that, and water and seeds for farmers all really change lives. When you go and hear them say 'You're making such a big difference in my life and I can feed my family', it really does show that every little bit does help," he said.

He continued: "I left Uganda with a sense that, although things are unbelievably tough for many people, it was nice to see the positives of what was being done by Christian Aid projects. I thought the nature of the people there was amazing."