As a young child, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. But this aspiration vanished suddenly, when both of my parents died during the civil war in Northern Uganda.

Then my older sister left with a man. I had to fend for myself and young siblings.

Life became very hard. We barely had any food and there was nowhere to sleep. Going to school became impossible. I had to work in the fields in exchange for a handful of food. That would keep us going for a couple of days. Then I would do it all over again.

“Life became very hard. We barely had any food and there was nowhere to sleep”

We ended up begging on the streets. Luckily, a local counsellor referred us to Chance for Childhood. They provided us with counselling and a mentor. I took a course in agribusiness and in animal farming. Later, we were given beans seeds and four goats. Last year, I was able to harvest five sacks of sorghum and four sacks of cotton, earning 200,000 shillings (£45)! We now have nine goats too!

That was two years ago. I am sixteen now, and my life has completely changed. I’ve completed primary education. This year I have chosen to stay home and do more farming to earn enough money for my brother to finish primary school.

“I was able to harvest five sacks of sorghum and four sacks of cotton, earning 200,000 shillings (£45)!”