Solomon’s story

Before joining Village of Hope, I was suffering in the hands of the LRA. They abducted me and I had to walk a long way. We moved from place to place. They gave me heavy loads to carry on my head.

One day when we were resting, the rebels were sleeping, and I escaped. I starting moving from one place to another looking for our home. When I reached there, I found my mother and father had been killed by the rebels who took me and my 7 siblings were left alone. We all cried together. I was young but I was the oldest so I had to take care of them.

When I was 14 years old, I joined VOH and started finding myself in a good place but sometimes I would still remember what I had happened in my life. I think God for what He has done in my life through protecting me from the hands of the LRA, bringing me back home and picking me to come to Village of Hope.

*Child’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

Daniel’s story

I thank God for his protection He offered for me during the LRA war. He guided me and rescued me from that difficult situation. I remember when the LRA came and found us sleeping in one of the huts and they decided to pick two of us in that hut and they went with us. After 2 weeks, I and other children of the same age were released but other children were not released including my brother. I have never seen him again.

Going through that was not easy, but God managed to protect me. Not only that, but he also has protected our family members from the serious situation we were undergoing and turned us to know Him and to follow his only Son, Jesus Christ. I also thank Him because sometimes I can forget about the situations I was undergoing even through sometimes I tend to remember.

Before I joined VOH, my life was not okay in the way that I could not even go to school because there was no one who could pay for my fee. Life was so hard that I could not even get money to buy clothes, shoes, books. Life was too hard before I joined VOH because I would join bad groups which one day led me into trouble and my life was in danger.

Life in VOH is so nice as life in paradise because there is everything that could make me feel at home. They are providing me with high quality of education through good teacher and house moms that work tirelessly to make sure that I have a well being at Village of Hope. My life has changed and I now have good friends, I study well without problems to achieve my goals in the future.

• Child’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

Vanessa’s Story

My father didn’t like me because I was a girl. All I wanted to do was go to school, but he would not allow me. One day the LRA rebels came to our home. They told my father if he would give them money they would not take me. My father had the money, but he said, “she is worthless to me. Take her.”

I spent the next years with the rebels, where they forced me to do many terrible things (note - most girls are used as “wives” and are forced to be child soldiers within the first 2 weeks of abduction). Once I was able to escape from the rebel camps, I had nowhere to go and nothing to eat. I didn’t have money to go to school. I was very sad.

Village of Hope began to provide me with food and paid for me to go to school. In 2010 they brought me to the Village to live. They showed me to my new home called “Hope” and to my new room. I had a real bed to sleep in! I also met several girls my age who also lived in Hope. We became sisters. I was able to attend the Primary school and then I went on to Vocational school. I love school.

Village of Hope staff love me. I feel like I am worth something and for the first time in my life, I feel valued for being a girl. My two favorite things are dancing with all my friends and leading worship at church on Sunday.

I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go to school.

*Child’s name has been changed to protect her identity.