Children of War

For three years, Children of War followed a group of former child soldiers in a rehabilitation centre in the northern part of Uganda where the children undergo trauma and coping therapy. The documentary, of which parts are in black and white, shows the children’s distress but also their strength and hopes for the future.

During the civil war that shook the north of Uganda, an estimated 35,000 children were abducted from their homes, schools or villages by the Lord’s Resistance Army. These rebels, led by self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Kony, turned the children into soldiers or exploited them as sex slaves, giving rise to abuse, religious indoctrination and forced participation in brutal violence.
Some 25,000 children in some miraculous way managed to escape the army or were freed. Children of War shows how the Rachele Rehabilitation Center takes care of these young victims. A team of coaches helps the children to cope with their traumas through role-playing and (group) conversations, with the aim of reunifying them with their families.