My name is Catherine Tukei from Karamoja – North Eastern Uganda. I was born on 15th October 1997. I am now 16 years old. Allow me to share with you my true life story as it unfolded.
What seemed to be lasting joy to the family after my birth quickly turned into mourning when my mother died (May her soul rest in eternal peace) after 2 weeks due to delivery complications with no medical attention at all since the nearest health centre was 78km away from home and there was no money for her treatment. As we were still nursing the loss of our lovely mother, total darkness covered the whole family when we were attacked by armed cattle wrestlers and took all our cattle- leaving our father dead! He was our only hope and now all was gone. On both burial occasions, many speeches were given as various people gave us (double orphans) Hope for better but I have not seen these people since that day.
Each day that came was like a nightmare-no food, no love, no hope; we were both physically and socially naked. Our elder brother who was 9 years old by then became our mother, father and source of survival. All our dreams were shattered as we turned into community outcasts. Begging for food became the order of the day but soon people got fade up and gave up on us.
At the age of 7, light seemed to appear at the end of the tunnel when a good Samaritan took me up to stay with her. She promised to take me to school on condition that I will help her with home chores after school. I quickly took up the offer but it was another hard walk in life. I was over worked, exhausted and the best I could afford was to sleep in class as I awaited another long night of work. All was hard for me but at least better than home because here I could have food. This went on for 4 years.
Another ‘opportunity’ came my way when a friend of mine advised me that we abandon school and we go to work for money in a far distant area. She mentioned the name and I could not even repeat it- it was far and strange. She assured me of transport and support while on Job. The day I left home is the day I left school up to now.
After 2 days of traveling, we reached our destination. We immediately got the job of working in a bar (Genesis bar) located at Rweshama landing site in RUKUNGIRI-more than a 1000kms from home. Everything was new and strange – people, work, culture, food, language and even climate but I was ready to face life as it comes…no retreat, no surrender- for I knew where I was coming from much as I did not know where I was going!
My hope was resurrected but did it last? Read on.
For the first time, I enjoyed life, had many friends touched some money, bought new clothes and I heard what I had never heard….. ‘I love you’ from a man. All this drove me crazy at the age of 14 and I was soon on top of the roof that would soon start leaking and falling apart. I got married to a ‘lovely man’ and I gave birth to a baby girl Pretty a year later. This marked the beginning of the end of our marriage. I will never forget the day this man looked into my face in a public gathering and said; Catherine I don’t love you, you don’t have where you come from, you are a dog and he spit in my eyes! I cried a thousand liters of tears but this was no solution. I had no option but to stick to this man- hoping that he would change.