Last month we circulated an appeal for a human disaster unfolding in Soroti, Eastern Uganda.

During September 2003, Ruth Elmitt (Oxford) went for a 'holiday' at New Hope Uganda (Kasana) to see old friends.

Little did she know what she would find herself doing...

Imagine for a moment ... it is a normal Sunday meeting in your church building when you begin to notice a noise gathering outside. You take a look and realise that there are people walking towards the building, you investigate further and realise that there are hundreds, soon to be thousands, of people filling the parking area. In time, your town is to be filled with an estimated 250,000 people who have no home, no food, only the clothes that are on their backs. There seem to be very few young men and women in their 20s, but many babies. These people have walked for miles, many have stories to tell you that you would not allow your children to hear. They begin to make camps around your church buildings and schools. Over the coming weeks the situation appears to escalate.

It is impossible, in a short note, to articulate my thoughts, feelings and reflections of the 16 days I spent in Soroti. It was a privilege to see God move and be at the very forefront of actively demonstrating God's love and hope to people who had been terrorised and forced from their homes. There are things that I saw and stories I heard that made me cry on a number of occasions and I know must have caused the heart of God to weep. But we brought the message of hope to these people. Our New Hope team was the very first aid to ever reach these internally displaced people (IDPs). They had been forced out of their homes and villages, fleeing from the rebels. Some had left as early as June, slowly making their way to Soroti town where they now stay in 'camps', using church buildings and schools as their shelter at night.

The exciting news is that the chief administrative officer for the district saw all the work that had been achieved over the 16 days and acknowledged that he wanted all the food provided by the World Food Program to now be distributed through Mission Hope Soroti. It is rumoured that they are planning to provide 2,700 tonnes of food for Soroti!