SHALOM NAMUTERE COMMUNITY PROJECT

  In my last two episodes, I shared my childhood experiences first, during the war and after the war.   Today, I'll continue with the third episode, "Beyond the Village." With no high school near me, it was time to leave home and head to the nearest "big town," Jinja, Uganda. I had never imagined myself in a big town before. Jinja, an industrial hub, was unlike anything I had known. After enrolling in high school, I needed to find somewhere to stay. I ended up sharing a small hut with a classmate who had already rented it. I remember looking up at night and seeing the sky and moon through the roof. We had to sleep in shifts because there wasn't enough room for both of us simultaneously. As hard as life was in my village, I missed it. (This is one of my first ever pictures taken)!!!!!!  Back to the story!!  To make ends meet, I worked to pay for my school fees, accommodation, and food. I enrolled in a carpentry apprenticeship and worked with a carpenter, d...

  This is My Story: Part 2   "My Life After the War" In the first part of "This is My Story," I shared glimpses of my early school life amid war. Today, I continue with the second chapter, “My Life After the War.”  When I look back, I realize that the effects of the war gave birth to a deep desire for something different. Join me as I further reflect.  When we returned from exile, we found our home destroyed—burned down and overgrown with bush.  For months, we were hosted by neighbors as my father worked to rebuild our lives. He managed to construct a small hut, but it was so tiny that only my parents could sleep inside. I had to find shelter with different neighbors for quite some time. Life was unbearably difficult.  Before the war, farming was not just our  source of income—it was how we fed ourselves and made any income.  The war disrupted everything, leaving us without food. Thankfully, some neighbors who hadn’t been chased away took pi...