Hollywood Actor Forest Whitaker in Uganda

Legendary actor, Artist and UNESCO Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation, Forest Whitaker is in Uganda, for a trip and charity activities among others.

According to the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), the actor visited Hope North, a special school for former child soldiers and war orphans, founded by Okello Sam, who met Forest in 2006 during the filming of “The Last King of Scotland.”

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This school is of particular significance to WPDI and Forest, as it was here that he first met a group of former child soldiers and discovered the real hardships they were facing in a society rife with violence and conflict, WPDI said.

✔️For the first time since the pandemic, WPDI is delighted to have been joined by our CEO and founder, @ForestWhitaker on a mission in #Uganda🇺🇬. We have also been joined by our partners the @PostcodeLottery, Svenska Postkodstiftelsen and @NBA_Africa! pic.twitter.com/WiUG92Onay
— WPDI (@connectWPDI) May 24, 2023

WPDI noted that the event inspired Whitaker to launch WPDI over 10 years ago. “WPDI’s very first training program took place at Hope North, with a first cohort of Youth Peacemakers trained there in 2012.”

Through his official Twitter, Whitaker said “It was wonderful to be able to return to WPDI’s roots in Uganda yesterday, where my journey for peace all began in 2006! Thank you my friend Okello Sam.”