Forced to flee her home in South Sudan, Rachel walked for three days to find safety for her nine children.
“I was a farmer in South Sudan and my children were all in school. I could afford many things for the family through farm products. I would sell some, I would use some for food.
But there was war...so I made the decision to leave the country with my children.”
Rachel was a successful farmer, able to earn an income and support her family with nutritious food. All of her children were in school. But that was before they were forced to flee their home in war-ravaged South Sudan, where ongoing conflict has shattered lives and people’s ability to live and work together with peace and security.
Rachel and her children – six of her own and three from family members who had been killed – walked for three days to the Ugandan border. She still doesn’t know what happened to her husband.
Rachel and her children escaped one hard place to find themselves in another. Even in the relative safety of a refugee settlement in northern Uganda, the trauma and isolation of their situation remained. Rachel became physically sick with worry, plagued with the memories of what she had seen and the fear that she would never recover.
Despite experiencing severe adversity, Rachel and her children are incredibly resilient. Through the support of Tutapona, our Christian partner working in the refugee settlement, Rachel has begun a journey of healing.
When she joined Tutapona’s trauma rehabilitation program, Rachel encountered hope, grew in courage, and took steps of forgiveness – building a strong foundation from which she has been able to confidently support her family, and others in the community.
Rachel says: "From the program I learned motivation and planning. I got courage. Before I joined , I did not have that wisdom of how to manage myself in stress, but now I can do many things and plan for my family.
The priority for me is to see the children going to school. Secondly, I want to see if I can find farmland and cultivate something."
Like you, we yearn for more stories like Rachel’s. To see those carrying burdens of suffering, isolation and uncertainty be lifted with hope and the opportunity to flourish again.
Hope in hard places is powerful. And we passionately believe it is possible.
You can support people living in hard places to experience hope and healing.
