"I'm here today as a voice of the children who are being killed, who are still suffering, and who are the victims to come, just to plead for their salvation, for their saving."

Mary Rose Atuu

While parents in the United States may worry about what their children see on late night television, it is nothing compared to the fear parents in northern Uganda have when the sun goes down.

For 21 years the people of northern Uganda, located in sub-Saharan Africa, have lived with the fear that their children could be abducted in the night by a rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army. The LRA began waging a war against the Ugandan government in 1986, forcing children to fight in their army, a tactic they still employ. Since its formation, the LRA has taken over 30,000 children.

In 1996, as a response to the LRA's aggression toward civilians, the Ugandan government began moving people into overcrowded camps where conditions are very poor. This has led to the displacement of 1.7 million people over the years. Although these camps are meant for protection, violence, like disease and starvation, runs rampant.

According to one UN official, the situation in northern Uganda is "the world's worst neglected humanitarian crisis."

Recently, the atrocities in northern Uganda have come under scrutiny by the international world. Since late 2006, the opposing forces -- the Ugandan government and the LRA -- have been in the process of peace talks. Leaders of the LRA are requesting to be pardoned for war atrocities, as they currently could face prosecution under the laws of the International Criminal Court.

One woman is partially responsible for the world's awareness of the crisis in northern Uganda: Sister Mary Rose Atuu, the U.S. representative for the Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate founded in Uganda in 1942.

The Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate, now 500 strong, are educators and health care providers. Sister Atuu came to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the late '90s on a scholarship and received her doctorate in chemistry this past December. Sister Atuu expresses that the children�¢����s livelihood is the core issue.

"I'm very passionate; my aim is to let the children be educated," Sister Atuu said.

On a selfless mission for the children's sake, Sister Atuu began corresponding with the CBS network by letter and telephone, and on March 22, 1998, "60 Minutes" aired a segment on the atrocities happening in northern Uganda.

But she didn't stop there.

On July 29, 1998, she testified before Congress with hopes of getting more support from the U.S. government.

"I'm here today as a voice of the children who are being killed, who are still suffering, and who are the victims to come, just to plead for their salvation, for their saving," Atuu said.

Sister Atuu also recounted one terrible day in July 1992 when 44 girls she was instructing were kidnapped in the early morning by the LRA. Two of the girls were murdered. One little girl, Jane tried to escape from the rebels.

"They pierced her body 16 times with a bayonet and they left her body there, just to display as a reminder for the other children, so that they may not try to escape again," said Atuu.

Another girl, Alice was shot because she couldn't walk with the rebels. In her testimonial, Sister Atuu also spoke of the ineffectiveness and corruption of the government's military that are supposed to guard the camps. She expressed her concerns for the future of the children that have been raised in the midst of this conflict.

"The rebels have actually destroyed the mind and the conscience of the future generation of northern Uganda to believe that killing is honorable."

On the subject of re-integrating those that have escaped from the LRA's grasp, Sister Atuu had this to say to the Congress:

"They need real orientation or a place where they can be actually at least helped, real rehabilitation, psychological rehabilitation, a real education, even some activities where they can play freely and do something which can take their mind away."

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