UNICEF: Farrow touring Uganda

NEW YORK, July 14 (UPI) -- U.S. actress-activist Mia Farrow traveled to Uganda Wednesday in her role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children's Fund, the organization said.

During her three-day trip she is expected to visit Gulu, an area in the north where she intends to speak with children once held captive by the rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army -- which is notorious for using children as soldiers and terrorizing civilians in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic -- UNICEF said.

Farrow is scheduled to visit Kotido in the northeastern region of Karamoja where children face violence caused by local tensions.

Also as part of her visit, Farrow is to attend Saturday's opening of the first African Youth Forum in Entebbe, which is organized in cooperation with the African Union Commission and the Government of Uganda.

The focus of the forum is on maternal and child health and development. It will also address issues such as HIV/AIDS, child rights and access to quality education, UNICEF said in a news release.