By Bonney Odongo
In Gulu
Prescovia Acayo (in green) poses with her children. Photo by Bonny Odongo
“I am requesting any person, organization or even the government to help me with these children especially their education, health, feeding and house rent because the business am doing gives me a profit of only 2 dollars per day,” Prescovia Acayo
Visibly malnourished children waved excitedly at us as we rode through the dusty potholed road to Lukung, a village located just few kilometres from Gulu town for an interview with a child mother.
As we sneaked through the potholed tyre path, some jogged after us probably animated at seeing a motor machine they hadn’t seen in many years of their life in the bush.
The sight of decrepit mud and wattle houses surrounded by overgrown lawn welcomed us to Lukung Village where Proscovia Acayo, a former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abductee lives.
Though she is among thousands of the northern children who suffered the wrath of the LRA’s twenty year old insurgency, Acayo, could affords a warm welcome for me. Her children were even much expectant seeing a visitor in their home.
In the meantime I get lost in the thought, “its lunch time actually 2pm” before reality hits me hard that Acayo’s children, her young brothers and sisters were actually going without lunch. No sign of fire could be noted but the children remained calm as if they were aware of their fates.
The year was 1995 when Joseph Kony’s rebel LRA armed with machetes, axe and all sorts of ugly weapons stormed Lacekocot Primary School, Atanga sub County in Pader district abducting many pupils and killed dozens in cold blood.
Among those killed was a fourteen year old Nokrac David, Acayo’s brother who was studying with her in the same school. According to her, the ill fated boy was shot on sight by the rebels while she was abducted alive.
For Acayo, she thought luck was on her side to be taken alive but her luck ran out on their arrival at the LRA base in Southern Sudan when she was given as wife to one of the fighters she knew only as Ayo.
Just like other young girls who fell victims to LRA lusts, Acayo recalled that she was handed over to Ayo one of the rebel combatants by Okot Odhiambo and Odomi both LRA commanders in the presence of many top brass in the rebel ranks and abductees.
Narrating her ordeal amidst tears and sorbs, Acayo noted that at the tender age of 11, Ayo attempted several times to have sex with her but was practically impossible as she was too young for penetration.
“As a wife, Ayo tried several times to force me into sex but his efforts were frustrated by his failure to penetrate me as I was still too young. I had a lot of painful feelings and hated myself,” Acayo recalled as tears rolled down her chicks.
After days of disappointing failures to have sex with Acayo, Ayo decided to hand her back to his top commanders pending another decision.
Two years down the road, in 1997 at the age of 13, after attaining some maturity, the little girl was in another trouble, she was again given as a fourth wife to another LRA officer, Lt. Okwera Aginya who had performed very well in the battle field and an abduction exercise that showed many women and children abducted.
“As women even during times of pregnancy, we engaged in all the activities that took place in the bush. We survive on wild fruits and leaves, we fought and ran through hostile terrain of southern Sudan because we were told that if you don’t fight then you will die,” says Acayo.
Acayo’s forced husband Okwera with whom she had three children died in 2003 at Owiny-Kibul during a shootout between LRA rebels and SPLA forces.
Her father was brutally murdered at Lacekocot, Atanga Sub County in Pader district in 1997 the same year she was given as a reward to Okwera.
Trying hard to recompose herself, Acayo painfully explained that, “with me in the hands of rebels, our father and my elder brother killed by the same rebels I was told our mother kept crying until she died of heart ach in 1998 leaving five helpless orphans.”
Just like many other war victims and child mothers who are currently suffering languishing in the north after being poorly resettled, the 26-year-old mother now sees life at home as a continuation of the suffering she had in the bush.
Acayo who escaped from the bush with four others in 2004 and manoeuvred through bushes and thickets until she reached home have got nine children to feed, dress and educate; four her’s and five left by her late parents.
On her return from the bush, Acayo was offered training skills on Tie and Dye by the World Vision, but the knowledge seems to be of no use to her as she lacks capital to buy materials and chemical to start the work.
Currently she is a charcoal vendor at Cuk Pa Atuku and it is on this retail business that this young mother and the family survives.
“I am requesting any person, organization or even the government to help me with these children especially their education, health, feeding and house rent because the business am doing gives me a profit of only 2 dollars per day,” she begged.
The weary faces of Acayo’s siblings and dependants sent a heart touching signal to me that a number of child headed families out there are in urgent need for intervention.
Day in and day out these people are going without food and their problem seems to be in isolation without any body bothered.
However Acayo has got her hope rejuvenated by the Concerned Parents Association (CPA) a local charity helping war affected children to cope up psychologically with financial backing from Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Program (NUREP).
The Executive Director CPA, Godfrey Okello said the organization is encouraging former LRA abductees and child mothers form groups through which they can be helped to cope up psychologically.
“With funding from NUREP, CPA has been able to organize these child mothers and child headed families in groups through which they can be helped. Some of them were able to go through vocational trainings,” he said.
But still this may not be enough, the government and leaders should as a matter of urgency institute a follow up programme to trace and see how these victims are living.
A clear fact on the ground is that, some of the orphaned victims are homeless as their lands have been grabbed off by elderly survivors. This could be a reason why Acayo, her children together with five of her sisters and brothers found themselves squeezed in a rented one roomed hut at Lukung village near Gulu Municipality.
But this is Proscovia Acayo looking for your help.
To reach her call Bonney Odongo on: +256782578779
E-mail: bnfcodongo@yahoo.co.uk
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