Humans of Uganda (27)

"I was born and raised in South Sudan. Life used to be good before the cival war started, and I never even thought of ever leaving my homeland. We had wonderful dreams as kids, and that was at the time we had gotten our independence as a country. We rejoiced and celebrated on the streets, with several rounds of armunition being fired into the air out of jubilation—not knowing that will later on be the same to terrorise us. The war ravaged our family so much that I lost my dad in a very gruesome way. He was like a strong pillar to me, and being orphaned at a tender age is a very terrible feeling. As if it couldn't get any worse, I later on lost my mom due to brain tumor. No emergency healthcare workers were at the hospital as the war had dispersed almost all of them. It was a terrifying moment for me—one that I'd never want any kid to go through. As rival militia groups approached our homestead, my conscious told me we had to leave. We were more afraid of what lied behind us than the uncertainty of our destination. We later joined a group of refugees to Uganda, but many were to die on the journey due to various circumstances of war. We went through a lot until we were fully settled in Uganda. It's a really very welcoming country with good people and substantial peace. I've been happier here and I've also managed to embark on chasing my teenage dream of being a fashion model. If it weren't for leaders who want to overstay in power, maybe our dreams and education wouldn't have been grossly hampered like that, maybe my dad would still give me gifts on my birthday, maybe mom would've gotten proper medical attention, just maybe."