News from a Mud Hut

Sabina's Story: A grandmother's hope

by Lowna Gie : April 8, 2010

I have heard many stories of how people suffered as a result of the war between the Ugandan government and the notorious rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

I have heard the stories of children who were abducted and forced to live with the rebels for anywhere from 1 day to 14 years. I have heard of how child soldiers were commanded to kill their communities, their friends and their families.

I have heard how they burnt people. I have heard how they cut people to pieces. I have heard how they beat people to death with sticks.

I have heard how people were forced to live in shocking conditions in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

I have heard the stories of young girls who were given as a "wives" to LRA commanders, including the rebel leader Joseph Kony. I have heard how young girls were raped by both the LRA and government soldiers.

But the story that disturbs me most is the story of Sabina - whose pain cuts me most deeply. It is the story that haunts me at night. It is the story that gives me nightmares, when I do manage to fall asleep.

This is Sabina's story. I heard it. "My name is Sabina. I am 46 years old. I was born in Gulu district and went to Lacor Primary school. I left school in P 6 [grade 4] because my family could not afford the school fees. When I got older, I married Justin and moved to the village of Lukodi. Justin was killed in 2000 by the Karamajong. His brother, Arocana, came and took me as his second wife. In our culture, when the husband dies his brother takes care of his widow. But they don't do that anymore because of AIDS."

"Justin and I had 8 children, but only 2 are alive today. Pamela is 23 years old and lives with a man in Lacor. She went to school but stopped in P 3 [grade 3] because her boyfriend confused her. She gave birth to her first born, Collins (now 12), when she was very young [about 12 years old]. She has also has a daughter called Gloria who is 9 years old. Both Collins and Gloria live with me because Pamela cannot take care of them."

"Patrick is 20 years old and completed primary school [grade 7]. He did not start secondary [high] school because we did not have money to pay for his school fees. Patrick had two wives but they have both left him. Patrick and his three children (Fiona (6), Brian (4) and Winnie (3)) all live with me because their mothers do not want to care for them."

"My co-wife died so I also look after her son Mark, who is two years old."

"The LRA has taken many things away from me. In 2003, they killed my son Isaac. He was 16 years old and was meant to start secondary school. It was a very bad thing. In 2004, when the LRA attacked our village they captured me. They sexually defiled [raped] me. They made me carry two basins of beans, one 10 L jerry can of oil and one goat. While we were walking a very far distance, a plane flew over us and there was great confusion. I spilt some of the beans and released the goat by mistake. The rebels got angry with me and beat me with sticks and a panga. They also cut my stomach open with a knife. I still have the scars. [Sabina showed me a 20 cm scar on her stomach from the knife wound. She also has several scars on her wrist and back where she was beaten with the panga and sticks.] After they beat me, they made me walk about 1 mile with them."

"While they were not looking, I hid between a big tree and an ant hill. They could not see me. I heard them saying that they should have killed me, because then I could not have escaped. Fortunately, they never found me. The next day, I was in so much pain that I could barely move. Another woman from Lukodi, who also escaped from the LRA, found me and took me back to Lukodi."

"When I got there, they took me to the hospital and I stayed there for two weeks. They treated my wounds and gave me medicine. They also tested me [for HIV] at the hospital and I was negative. I felt much better when I got back from the hospital, but I could not longer farm because of my injuries. We were also forced to move to the [IDP] camps. I stayed in Co-pee IDP camp for 2 years and in Lukodi IDP camp for 2 years. Life became very difficult. I had no way to get money. I did not know how I would feed all the children. I was over-thinking all the time. I would see the dead people, especially Isaac who was killed by the LRA. I had no hope. I wanted to die."

"When I started making beads for ChildVoice, my life changed. For the first time in many years, I now have money to care for myself and my family. I use my wage to buy food, clothes, medicine, and household esentials. I can also pay the children's school fees and pay people to farm for me. I am able to repay the people I was forced to borrow money from. I have also saved some of the money and have bought five chickens with it.

ChildVoice has united me with the community because I have made friends with ladies I did not know before. My friends support me and stop me from over-thinking. I love working for ChildVoice because I have learnt many things like making beads, saving money and keeping time. I have also learnt many things in the bible studies. I have learnt how Jesus died for our sins and how we should live for Him. I have also learnt to love and forgive people. I thank God and ChildVoice for improving my life so much. I now have hope."