Okello Robinson

While in Uganda, I had the opportunity to shadow a student named Okello Robinson. He was a Senior-6 in Awere Secondary school, so he is about to graduate. He is 19 and lives in a hostel near the Awere campus. We laughed and joked, listened to music on my iPod, walked through Gulu to see all sorts of things, were caught in a heavy downpour, then dried out minutes later. He introduced me to his friends and we all sat and ate lunch together in one of the classrooms.

He is just like me, a normal 19 year-old kid going to school with his friends. Except, he isn't.

Since the war in Northern Uganda took a nasty turn in the mid 90's, Awere had to move away from its original site, about 30 km from Gulu. The conflict has claimed thousands, if not millions of lives due to fighting, hunger, displacement, disease, etc. Okello Robinson had lost his mother to HIV/AIDS and his father was killed by rebels that stormed his town while Robinson was away at school. He has been living on his own in a youth hostel, not only going to school from 8am to 5pm and studying, but he has also been working to raise money for schools fees, for food and a place to stay. This is no normal student. This is a boy, who for 8 years, has been his own parents.

Here is what he said that changed my life: (and I quote)

"I sometime do not eat. That way I can have money for school fees. That is it."

This blew me away. I started thinking to myself, "Would I do the same thing?" and the answer is I don't think I would. I have taken my education for granted and to hear this from someone so committed to their education.

I also saw his relationships with his teachers and the headmaster of the school. They were awesome in helping him through whatever he needed help with.

And so my major will be changing when I get back to school. I would like to be able to share how all this changed my life and be encouraging to students like Robinson. I will be studying secondary education to be a World History or English/Film teacher.

Uganda changed my life. So totally worth it.

Also check out the Invisible Children blog about what Andrew Morgan (the IC Uganda communications officer) had to say about us being there. http://blog.invisiblechildren.com/?p=1589

This is the classroom that I was in with Okello Robinson.