My Big Fat Ugandan Wedding

For the last 20 years, northern Uganda has suffered from a conflict that has pitted the armed forces of the Government against various insurgents. This conflict has caused untold suffering and resulted in large internal displacements. Current estimates put the figure of internally displaced persons (IDP) at about 1.465 million, with around 300,000 in Pader.


For the past two years relative peace has been restored to the region, leaving the Acholi people of Pader to rebuild their lives.



This story follows the mass wedding of six couples from Pader. Their big day symbolizes Uganda's future as it emerges from the darkness of civil war.
Photojournalists Becky Matthews and Clare Struthers have just returned from northern Uganda where they covered a first of its kind mass wedding.


The wedding was held at the Remnant Church, (named in honour of those who lost their lives in the atrocities) in the village of Lacekocot, at the heart of an IDP (Internally Displaced People) refugee camp in Pader.

The six couples were already married according to their local Acholi tradition, but 22 years of Civil War meant that there has never been the possibility of an official ceremony or celebration.
Every bride and groom has been traumatically affected by the conflict, surviving horrendous personal tragedies at the hands of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) rebels, in addition to the loss of their homes and livelihoods. Over the last two years relative peace has been restored to the area, bringing a new found sense of hope to these courageous people. This wedding is symbolic of the fresh start on offer to the Acholi people.
Katie Karpik from the Flames of Fire Ministry who helped organized this event with the Acholi people, said she believed that...
"...these people are so amazing, so strong, so resourceful. For northern Uganda to move forward it will have to be the people that do this."
Also helping to make this wedding possible was the generosity of women from Lancashire, who donated their own treasured traditional wedding dresses via the Preston and Chorley based charity Jireh Women. After an appeal Jireh Women collected and shipped over 50 dresses, along with suits and accessories. These dresses will now be rented out by the women of Pader to provide an income.
As you can imagine, in a village where there are not even basic facilities such as electricity, schooling or medical care, an event such as this was truly a day like no other.
Pastor Charles Okongo who officiated the wedding, said afterwards that he believed that "There is hope in this nation.....I see a bright Uganda ahead of us".