Under the Stars Lock-OUT Event for High School and College Students

CAN SLEEPING IN A PARKING LOT REALLY CHANGE A LIFE?

WONDER WHAT ITS LIKE TO GROW UP IN A DISPLACEMENT CAMP IN NORTHERN UGANDA? STOP WONDERING. DISPLACE YOURSELF.

Nearly 1 million orphaned and abandoned children sleep in northern Uganda’s now “closed” IDP (internally displaced persons) camps. The more than 22-year war is now in a time of “peace” and the government is telling these children, many of whom lost their parents, some due to death and disease – others witnessed their murders at the hands of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), that it’s time to go home. But what does home look like? These camps are all they’ve ever known. These children are scared to leave wondering -- What will my home village look like? Will life be better there? I was forced to fight as a child soldier; will I be welcomed home by family and friends?

Sleeping in a parking lot can change lives. By participating in a Sweet Sleep Under the Stars lock-out event, your students will experience what it’s like to live in one of these camps and not have a healthy, comfortable place to sleep. As they prepare to sleep on the cold, hard ground, looking up at the stars, your students will hear the stories of children and young adults just like them who are sleeping under the same sky – children who are praying that they’ll be resettled soon and finally be able to go home.

You’ll be changed. Your students will be changed. And the lives of orphans thousands of miles away will be changed, too. A resettlement kit for one of these children, including a straw mat, comfortable mattress, warm blanket, life-saving mosquito net and a Bible in their own language is just $50. How many kids can your group resettle?

To sign up to host Sweet Sleep Under the Stars at your church, school or in your community, e-mail underthestars@sweetsleep.org or call 615-730-7671.

For more information visit www.sweetsleep.org/underthestars.

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