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Uganda after Kony: Alice Akoko’s story


May 18, 2012
By The IRC
Photo: Celine Auma/IRC

This is the second in a series of stories shared by women who are rebuilding their lives after the long and brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict in northern Uganda. A 2006 cease-fire agreement between the Ugandan government and LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony brought relative peace to the region. Families who were displaced into camps, some for decades, have now returned home, but their communities are still recovering. The International Rescue Committee is helping them start anew.

 
Alice Akoko, 49
Lamwo district, northern Uganda 
Farmer, separated with four children (ages 16 to 30)  
 
My brothers were killed during the war and some of my relatives were abducted. This left me with the responsibility of caring for their orphaned children.  It has been very difficult for me to provide for all of their basic needs, as well as for those of my own children.  
 
My house and property were burnt in the fighting and we were displaced to a camp.  We were only surviving on food rations given by humanitarian agencies.   As the situation stabilized, we returned to our villages – but life has been very hard since we had to start all over again with almost nothing.  
 
Memories of the war and its atrocities still come back to me. Talking about it makes me feel as though I am going through the experience again. 
 
Things were difficult at home for a long time.  When I came to the IRC’s women’s protection and empowerment team I was having lots of problems with my husband.  We used to fight a lot.  I talked to a local IRC community support volunteer who counseled us and spoke with my husband about the dangers of violence.  The IRC has been helping us to resolve the problems between us, and these days we live in harmony.  
 
My daughter was recruited as a community support volunteer with the IRC, which has played a big role in bringing peace to our home. 
 
Women in our community face many challenges. There is a very big challenge of paying school fees for our children, especially those that are in secondary school.  Women are constrained by inadequate finances to provide for their families’ needs.
 
I am a member of the village savings and loan association the IRC started in our village.  Joining the group has helped me to save money and meet our daily expenses. 
 
My dream is to be in a position to provide for my family for the future, including the children that my relatives left behind.  Most importantly, I want to provide for their educational needs.


Learn More about Uganda, Joseph Kony and the LRA

 

 

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