Tracy's Story

This is the story of a thirteen year old girl in Uganda. My short experience in this developing country suggests it is by no means unique. Tracy lived in Dokolo District in Northern Uganda. The north of the country has been terrorised by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony for many years. Tracy’s father was a headteacher, in July 2002 the family were captured by the rebels at their home. At 5am it would have still been dark when rebels stormed their home and took Tracy, her mother and father. Other residents fled from the village. The family were made to walk with the rebels as they searched for other civilians and army personnel, carrying their property for 70 – 100 kms. Tracy became tired and exhausted and was severely kicked and beaten so that she could not walk. The rebels left her behind telling her to go back and that her parents would return later. It is not confirmed but it is thought they were killed possibly over the border in Sudan. Tracy was stranded in the bush with no idea where home was and unable to walk. She was about 8 or 9 years old. People in the area found her hungry, almost naked and with swollen legs. They took her to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Pader district. It seems she was looked after by a number of families but no one took responsibility for her as they were afraid there would be problems if they were keeping her illegally. She had by this time been taken to another IDP camp at Abim in the next district. There was apparently an article written in the local paper about her ordeal. (I am still trying to find a copy.) She was quoted as saying that she may spend the night outside since her ‘Uncle’ had evicted her. When asked about her parents she replied with tears since she could not tell their whereabouts.
I met Samuel at the college when he came to upgrade his teaching qualifications. It is he who told me this story. Tracy’s father was his best teacher in primary school in Dokolo district. He heard about the difficult situation for Tracy. She had by now been taken back to a camp in Dokolo district by the area Member of Parliament who had recognised her in Abim camp. Sam went to see Tracy and sought permission to take Tracy to Kampala where he was living so that he and his brother could educate her. He took her to see her Grandparents in the camps and then enrolled her in a primary school in 2003. It amazes me that she worked hard and with help from Samuel was top of her class and passed her Primary Leaving Exams in 2007. Her results were good so she was offered a place at a good secondary school in Kampala. Although the government in Uganda is committed to providing free education, the numbers of children and the lack of trained teachers mean that many of the better schools are private and fees must be paid. This is the situation Sam found himself in. Not yet thirty and paying fees from his small teacher’s salary to continue his own education, he had to find Tracy’s fees, books, uniform……..quite a task! He says, ‘I begun seeing stars, darkness because I never had a single coin to assist paying off Tracy’s tuition fees……it was big for me as personally I was taking up my studies.'
Family back in the UK gave us money to help students so we were able to give Samuel some help towards fees for Tracy to start her first term. In spite of starting several weeks late she completed the term in third position in her class. During her second term we were also able to help and Sam writes that Tracy was able to go back to school, happy with her studies. We are hoping to continue to help Tracy even after we leave Uganda. Students and families here struggle to find fees and yet the belief is very strong that education is the way out of poverty. We are asked to help with school or college fees on a daily basis and will, with friends and family have helped six student teachers complete their qualifications by the time we leave. Tracy’s story is a bit different and I am astounded that she can do so well after such trials. I am hoping to find some longer term support for Tracy so that Samuel can continue with his studies (he hopes to go on to take a degree course after he completes his Diploma).