Child Mother Profiles

BEATRICE AKELLO

Beatrice was captured at age nine while walking home from school. By the time she was thirteen, she had been given to two different commanders as a wife and had given birth to her daughter Mercy. She was planning an escape in 2001 but was turned in. For that she was beaten so severely she could not move for a week. Her second attempt was successful.

Beatrice was lucky enough to find a program that helped her get back into school. But staying there has not been easy. Money is very tight because she cannot work full-time. Her daughter was being beaten by her caregiver while Beatrice was in school. But the women in IGAP helped Mercy and encouraged Beatrice to continue in school. Now she is set to graduate from secondary school next year. If she can find the money, Beatrice is determined to go to university to become a teacher.

Beatrice is very clear about her priorities right now: Mercy and completing her education. She has no interest in getting married soon. “A man will only disorganize my life right now.”

ANENO MARGARET

After she was abducted from her school at age 11, Margaret spent nine years in the LRA. She was constantly sent into armed battle, forced to abduct other children and survived a cholera outbreak. She was raped repeatedly and had two children as a result. Margaret was finally rescued by government soldiers who found her injured and left for dead.

Margaret was in hospitals and rehabilitation centers for over a year. As a result of her trauma, Margaret had a mental breakdown and was briefly living on the streets. During that time she was raped again, which produced her final child Hope.

Margaret is missing her left forearm. She lost it when a gunshot wound turned into gangrene. Quite literally, Margaret has to care for her children single-handedly. “Sometimes I feel so weak because I can’t farm, I can’t work. But I also feel proud because I often do just as many things as women with two arms can.”

Before she found IGAP, Margaret was chronically depressed and anxious about her family’s survival. “But now I feel much relieved. Here my friends give me advice and I can forget my problems.” Now Margaret is doing well, living with her children and dreaming someday of buying her own land so she can build a home.

GRACE ABER

Grace was abducted from her home at age 14. For eight years she was forced to porter heavy loads on foot between Sudan and

Uganda

and to fight in combat. She was also given as a wife to an LRA member from which she had 2 children, now ages 8 and 6. At one point, Grace was shot in a clash and laid alone in a field for nearly a week before she was found.

That’s when her spiritual faith found roots. Her faith in God gives her strength to handle the difficult circumstances of her life.

After her first husband died and she escaped from the LRA, Grace remarried and had a third child. Soon after, her second husband abandoned them. Now at age 21, with no husband and no surviving parents, Grace is alone to care for her children. “Everything is on my head.”

“I like the IGAP program because it feels good to know I have worked hard for my money, that it wasn’t just given to me out of charity.” With her IGAP savings, Grace plans to buy a small plot of land where she can build her own home and stop paying rent.

VICKY ABIYO

Vicky grew up with three brothers and two sisters in Adjumani near the

Sudan

border. At age 9 she was captured by the rebels. She spent eight years enduring hard labor, armed fighting and countless acts of violence against her including beatings and rape. Right after she gave birth to her daughter, she managed to escape.

Joy is now four years old and recently survived a near-fatal bout with malaria. Fortunately Vicky had a little money from her beadwork to help pay for medical care. “It is because of the beads that we are surviving.” IGAP has also raised Vicky’s hopes that Joy will get an education.

When she returned from the bush, Vicky learned tailoring and acquired a sewing machine. With her IGAP savings, she will finally be able to purchase fabric and other materials to get her sewing business off the ground.

At age 21, Vicky feels grateful for the life she now has. “Before, I felt lost and had nothing to do. Now I have structure and earn my own money. Our lives have really changed because of this program.”

JANET OYELLA

Janet spent 5 years in the LRA after she was abducted at age 14, on her way to school. She managed to escape during a battle and was taken to a convent in Gulu. Pregnant with her first child from a forced LRA marriage, she was rejected there and had to give birth on her own. Two years later, Janet was ambushed and raped by a group of men outside of town. That produced her second child.

Her sons Walter and Geoffrey are now 4 and 2 years old. Janet worries how she will pay their schools fees in the years ahead. That is why she joined the IGAP group – to learn how to earn money and build a future for her sons. She likes the comfort of steady work that IGAP bead making provides. Janet hopes to save enough to buy some land and maybe even move into tailoring, a skill she learned through the convent’s vocational training program.

Like the other mothers in IGAP, Janet’s current joy and future hopes are her children. “I am happy knowing that my kids will have a future.”

BEATRICE ABODA

Beatrice is 25 years old and lives alone with her three children. Her oldest child was born from a forced marriage in the LRA. She was captured by rebels when she was 16 years old. Three years of fighting, enslaved labor and physical assault went by before she was able to escape during an ambush.

After she returned, Beatrice had two more children but both fathers abandoned her. She struggles to find enough money to buy food and rent. Thanks to IGAP, she has a predictable income that she supplements by doing laundry. She enjoys the feeling of going to work everyday and earning her own money. Beatrice also relies on the emotional support she receives from the other women in the group to help her through difficult times.

Thanks to foreign sponsors, Beatrice is able to send her two oldest children to school. She dreams that all three will complete their education and have bright futures. She also hopes that someday she will no longer be able to remember her past.