My life as a refugee gave birth to my dream as a storyteller

By Lisi Emmanuel Alex, Communications Officer

It took us three months of walking through the bush until we were able to reach a refugee camp in Uganda. I was then around six years old and I was with my parents, my four siblings and two sisters-in-law. My childhood life was practically spent as a refugee. Prior to that, the only world I knew was my small village in Yei State. Just imagine the steep transition of my young mind.

As we walked on foot, we often got drenched by the heavy rains and slept on wet grounds. As soon as the rain stopped, we continued without food. As I remembered my friends who also fled with their parents, I was also carrying some luggage and guiding the livestock we brought with us.

Upon crossing the border to Uganda, my mother said, “We are safe here. There will be no more gunshots. But I don’t know what lies ahead. Let us prepare for the next challenge because we are in an unknown place.” My mother’s words burned in my mind.

We were only a small fraction of the fleeing thousands to Uganda. After the, it took us two weeks before being taken to the transit camp. The big lorry came to pick us up. It was white in color, very high and worse, it was completely covered by a plastic carpet.

My mother told me we should go in last. The lorry was packed to its fullest and people hardly breathed inside. As the convoy of lorries moved, the road was covered by dust. It was difficult to breathe. By the time we arrived we were all full of dust.

For the first time I saw the River Nile. The same river was in my village but I was amazed to know it crosses several countries. When my mother said we would cross the river, I got scared. All of us did in small canoes and I clung tight to my mother throughout the trip.

Our journey eventually ended in Olijji transit camp in Adjumani, a part of northern Uganda. It was indeed a different world, from food to the lifestyle. We were used to eating cassava, cowpeas, maize, local vegetables and fruits. We have to suddenly shift to eating beans, sorghum and maize. Many people started to develop stomach and other health problems.

I wanted to study. Every day that I saw something that I liked I would tell my mother I wanted to be that someone with a car or dressed the same as him. I even wanted to be in a plane I saw in the sky. My mother always told me, “You will get all that if you go to school. If you don’t, you will be like us or worse than us.”

I saw a lot of UN and NGO officials in our camp and I said to myself that one day I want to work like these people. World Vision fulfilled my childhood goal. I spent a total of 11 years as a refugee in Uganda enduring all the difficulties that refugees from other parts of the world endured. Something positive came out of my journey – I saw things that helped me shape my dreams.

On 2016, a few years after graduating from University of Juba, I found my way working as a communicator in World Vision. In many of my field visits, I realized some of the people I interviewed have gone through harder times than me. I try to encourage them by sharing my own story hoping it will inspire them not to give up.

I saw so many levels of suffering at work, from the children in the Protection of Civilians (PoC) Site in Juba to Kuajok Hospital in Warrap State. Majority ran away leaving their meager properties and staring from scratch. I saw the bigger view of the issues affecting my own country. I love my work as a communicator because it gives me the opportunity to interact with people.

I enjoy the smile on the children’s faces when I take their photos and show them how they look like. Sharing their stories is almost like sharing my own. In South Sudan, each person has a different story to share. Everything that happens in our life has a purpose. If we did not go to a refugee camp, I may not have realized the significance of studying. One day I want my story in a book for others to learn from. My journey continues.