Skip to main content

More from Awake: Rachel Hardy

 Like Water....

  Rachel Hardy is spending time with the Kids in our sponsorship program to see how we can best help them in their future. Have a read of what she has to say on her latest trip to Orum Primary School.
“A few years ago, you wouldn’t have stopped on the side of the road like this, would you?”
“Eh, no. You didn’t ever stop. If you stopped, eh…you were gone.”
On our way to Orum Primary School to take pictures of the sponsored children, nature called Jimmy, so we slowed to a stop on the side of the road. I asked him about stopping, and he gave his haunting response as he shut his door. I shuddered.
Much of the territory I traverse for research and photo documentation is former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war land. Though the sheer beauty of the seemingly untouched countryside is stunning, I find myself wondering how many bodies are buried in those rolling hills and how many horrific tales I’d hear if those majestic trees could talk.
Somewhat spooked, I searched the tall grasses on either side of the road from the safety of the car. I was sitting along a road where many people had been tortured, abducted and killed during the height of the LRA’s terror. As Jimmy hopped back in the Isuzu, I asked him how villagers had bought supplies or even food if the roads had been so unsafe. I could imagine how terrifying it would have been to travel this road in search of food, gambling with your life that you’d not only find food, but make it back home as well.
“That’s how most people died,” Jimmy explained. “They were hungry, their children were begging for food, and they had to do something. So they took the chance and went out to harvest crops in their fields or walked to try to find a market. But the LRA was like water,” Jimmy continues, waving his hand across the landscape. “They were everywhere. You couldn’t get away from them, and when they found you, they took you.”
Now bumbling down the dirt road towards the school, he continued, “That was a way they got your family, too. Rebels were everywhere in the villages. They’d watch until you left to get food, then they’d attack your home while you were gone. You’d come back and everyone would be dead or gone.”
I stared out the window at Otuke District, mindlessly munching a chapatti as we finished the route to the school. The area is now a far cry from that unstable and terrifying time; men ride down the road on bicycles yelling “Apwoyo!” at Jimmy, and women walk to the Otuke market. Smoke from cooking fires rises from homes along the route, and children herd goats and cows down the road. But everyone still remembers; everyone still tells stories. And though it’s been years since the LRA flowed through the region like water, I was still relieved to reach the school and escape the ghostly tide.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Update from our Sister organisation: Achon Uganda Children's Fund

Progress on the Kristina Clinic  Achon Uganda Children's Fund Board Member- Jim Fee with the Community Board members for the Kristina Clinic  An update from Jim: Julius and I returned home on Sept. 21 st from an eventful and successful trip to Uganda. We departed on September 10 th and spent 10 days in Northern Uganda. I am writing to provide you trip highlights. From Sept. 14 th through the 19 th we alternated days in Lira and Julius’ village Awake which is 42 miles NNE. Recent heavy rains prior to and while we were in Northern Uganda made the road from Lira to the village very difficult to navigate so the normal 1½ hour trip became a 2+ hour journey each way.  The road to Awake   Kristina Clinic construction in Awake village is progressing very well since our May clinic visit. Under the leadership of construction manager Patrick Ebyau and Julius’ brother Jimmy Okullo the living quarters are virtually complete save windows, doors, paint...

How it All Began: the Love Mercy Story

She was an Olympic hopeful, he was a child soldier. Here’s how founders Eloise Wellings, Julius Achon and their friend Caitlin Barrett first came together to create real change in Uganda. Eloise and Julius on her first visit to Uganda in 2009  As long as she can remember, Eloise Wellings wanted to compete at the Olympics. As a child she would visualise winning gold ­– standing proudly on her makeshift phone book podium, singing the Australian national anthem at the top of her lungs. All she wanted to do was run. Julius Achon’s childhood was spent in the village of Awake in rural Northern Uganda, carrying water for miles for his family. At age 12, Julius was abducted by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army and forced to be a child soldier. During his captivity, he endured the trauma of both witnessing and being forced to carry out violent acts, living in a daily environment of atrocities. After three months, Julius had the opportunity to run for his life. A govern...

ONE HEART ONE MILLION VOICES

New Empire We are honored and excited to share this video with you, documenting the story of Eloise and Julius our founders. Eloise began her athletics career at a young age, starting out in the under 6's at her local little athletics club. After realizing at the age of 15 that she wanted to make running her career, she committed to training and qualified for the Olympics at the age of 16. Unfortunately soon after qualifying, Eloise suffered a stress fracture which continued to plague her career for the following decade. She has continued to follow her dreams despite facing much adversity, and is now on track to qualify for the London 2012 games. Julius Achon has an inspiring story of hope which continues to unfold.One morning on a routine training run in Uganda, Julius Achon literally stumbled upon 11 orphaned children living at a bus shelter. These children, who had been effected by Africa's longest running war, were without food, clothing, housing or educ...