The Horrors of War: Devastation in the Lives of East African Children

By Sam Childers, “The Machine Gun Preacher”

There once was a time I would’ve never imagined being in an honest-to-God warzone. My life was a warzone enough – addiction, violence and chaos were my closest friends.

Then in the late 1990s, as a born-again Christian, I came to East Africa and found the REAL war. The children. Oh, my dear God, the children. What they had experienced at the hands of brutal warlords was unthinkable. It was unconscionable. I HAD to do something. I thought I had seen the worst the world has to offer. But nothing can prepare you for the devastating impact war has on the innocent. 

Thankfully, alongside my nonprofit, Angels of East Africa, we’ve been able to rescue and rehabilitate thousands of children in Uganda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

By purchasing my new documentary – “Never Stop: 25 Years a Missionary or a Mercenary” – you’re directly supporting this mission. For those who are unfamiliar, let’s get a grip on why this is important.

War is No Place for Children

Especially guerrilla warfare. These kids, barely old enough to understand what’s happening around them, are thrust into a nightmare that no child should ever have to live through. The physical, emotional and psychological scars of war leave a mark on them that’s far deeper than anything I could ever describe in words. 

I’m still going to try because the world needs to know.

At our orphanages, we see this every day. Are these children capable of healing after seeing what they’ve seen, doing what they’ve done and experiencing what they’ve experienced? Absolutely. But the path is long. 

Here’s why.

The Physical Scars: Visible Reminders of Pain

Imagine being just 7 or 8 years old – or younger – and seeing your entire village burned to the ground. This is the horrifying reality for so many children across wartorn East Africa.

Some children barely escape with their lives themselves, caught in the crossfire with burns, gunshot wounds, broken bones and worse.

When I first arrived here, I was hit with the brutal reality of what these children endure. Many of the kids we rescue bear deep, painful reminders of the violence they've survived. I’ve held children missing limbs, their bodies burned, their faces disfigured by the cruelty of war. Some are scarred by bullets, others by machetes, and some from the bombings that level their homes. 

For them, pain isn’t a one-time event. It’s a constant companion; a part of their existence.

These physical scars often never fully heal. We’ve seen children who’ve lost arms or legs because they refused to follow the commands of warlords, or were simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Others are malnourished, their tiny bodies weak from years of not having enough to eat. 

Medical care in war zones is scarce. These children often need months — sometimes years — of physical rehabilitation.

The Emotional Scars: A Life Shattered

While the physical scars are heartbreaking, the emotional scars these children carry are even more devastating. These kids have witnessed atrocities no person should ever see, much less a child. Imagine losing your family in an instant or, even worse, being forced at gunpoint to kill them yourself. 

Some have been abducted from their homes in the middle of the night by rebel militias like the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by the evil Joseph Kony. They've been torn from their families and forced into lives of unimaginable horror. 

Boys are turned into child soldiers, given guns and told to kill – or be killed. Many of them are forced to kill their own parents or siblings to ensure their loyalty. I’ve met boys who, after being rescued, have wept in my arms because of the guilt and shame they carry from being forced to commit these atrocities.

The girls face horrors of their own. Many of them had been kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery, enduring abuse day after day. Some of them have seen their friends and sisters killed for trying to escape. When we bring them to safety, they’re broken. They can’t trust anyone. They don’t know how to feel safe anymore.

These children may smile, laugh and try to play like normal kids again. but deep down, the emotional toll remains. You can see it in their eyes, in the way they flinch at loud sounds or shy away from touch. Their innocence has been stolen.

The Psychological Scars: A Battle That Never Ends

The psychological scars are the ones that often last the longest. War has a way of embedding itself into the minds of grown men. Imagine the psychological impact it would have on innocent children. Even after they’re rescued, even after they’re safe, many of them struggle with the trauma of their past experiences.

I’ve comforted children who wake up in the middle of the night screaming, plagued by nightmares reliving the horrors they’ve witnessed. Every. Single. Night. Others have flashbacks, triggered by the sight of soldiers or the sound of helicopters overhead. 

PTSD is a very real thing.

The tricky thing about mental wounds is that they’re invisible. Treatment? Best left to the professionals. We work tirelessly at Angels of East Africa to provide psychological support for these children. We give them counseling, therapy and, most importantly, love. But even with all the help in the world, the road to recovery is long. 

These kids have had their entire worldview shaped by violence and fear, and it takes years to undo that kind of damage.

The Hope for Healing: A New Future for the Children of East Africa

Despite all the pain these children have gone through, there is hope. Every child we rescue is a life saved, a future that has a chance to flourish. At Angels of East Africa, we don’t just rescue these kids from war zones — we help them rebuild their lives. We give them a home, an education, and most importantly, a community where they can feel safe again.

This mission isn’t just mine. It’s ours. Will you support us?