Sewing Hope

For more than two decades, Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) terrorized Northern Uganda. They abducted children and forced them to commit atrocities against their own families and communities. Girls as young as thirteen were degraded to sex slaves for Kony's officers. The war is now over, but the years of brutal conflict have deeply scarred Uganda's people. Child soldiers have returned to the communities where they committed violent crimes, and the girls carry with them a constant reminder of their abuse: their captors' children. They are often ostracized by their communities, and most lack the skills they need to provide for their families. Named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2014, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe presides over Saint Monica's Vocational School in Gulu, Uganda. She lived through the horror created by Kony's LRA, and now works to heal the wounds he inflicted on her people. She invites formerly abducted girls to Saint Monica, where they learn sewing, tailoring and other practical crafts. Through vocational training, these young women gain independence. Through community with their fellow students, they find forgiveness. Through the restoration of their lost futures, they find hope. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, Derek Watson’s provocative documentary melds compelling stories of survival with edgy animation to tell one woman's fight to bring promise back to her troubled nation.