Akello Barbra is from Gulu, an economic hub in Northern Uganda — and the region where the Lord’s Resistance Army originated.
philip vukelich | rawr
Akello Barbra is pictured after the showing of a film from Invisible Children, an organization attempting to raise awareness of the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army and improve the lives of those affected by their activities in central Africa. The film was shown Oct. 9 in the Borah Theater in the Student Union Building.
Barbra is now on a tour with Invisible Children, an organization working to bring justice to the region, but sat down to share her story during a visit to the University of Idaho.
“I come from northern Uganda where the war originated from. This is a war that started when I was 6 years old. At the age of 10 — and this is something I don’t like talking about — I lost my dad,” Barbra said.
Barbra said the night her dad was killed, she and her family had traveled into the village to visit their grandparents for the weekend.
“Unfortunately that was the night my village got an attack by the LRA and whatever happened in the night, I cannot say it because there are certain things — like when you’re sleeping and something horrible starts happening — but what I remember is … I ended up in the bush near by our home. Everyone was scattered. That was a time where no one could even think ‘where is this person’ at that moment,” Barbra said.
Twenty years later, Barbra still struggles to tell the story.
“In the morning when people were coming back from wherever they slept … we found my dad lying in a compound. My two aunts and their children … all were lying in the compound,” she said.
Barbra said on the same night, four of her cousins were abducted by the LRA, and since then only three have returned.
“Being in the jungle is something that no one would ever want because … once you’re in the jungle the life there is completely different. First you’re in a place you don’t want to be in, moving from one place to another, seeing people being killed, or maybe even killing people yourself,” Barbra said. “The ones who have returned they are not the same people. They are not the people we knew and my family does not want to ask them, but definitely life in the jungle is not for a human being.”
After the death of her father, Barbra’s family was displaced and separated just as many other families from the region were.
“There are so many relatives I grew up without knowing. It feels really funny because these are relatives that in real life you should connect with and be close with. That’s how it is in my culture, but because of the war they were displaced and I didn’t know them that well,” Barbra said.
Barbra and her family left their village, but struggled as a single parent family living in northern Uganda.
“Still that was really hard because I’m from a family of five children and all of the sudden everything was left for my mom. Paying us in school, feeding us, paying for shelter, medical — it was rough,” Barbra said.
Barbra attended Gulu high school, where she said she felt doing well was the only option.
“Seeing my mom struggle so hard … became a debt that I had to pay her back. I was like if I don’t work hard in school, I will frustrate her efforts and because of that I really had to do my best in school and utilize that opportunity,” Barbra said.
Barbra moved away from her family to attend Makerere University, the largest university in Uganda. There, Barbra graduated in three years with a degree in information and office management.
“After my three years of study I went back home … there I was lucky and Invisible Children advertised for a vacancy in their office for the position of administrative assistant,” Barbra said.
Barbra said two factors — seeing her mom struggle and accepting the death of her father — kept her strong during her time away from her home and her family.
“I had to accept whatever had happened. Because after some time I realized that it had happened and I cannot change whatever has happened but I have also a future,” Barbra said.
Returning home was difficult, but Barbra said she is a stronger person for all that she has been through.
“As a human being, those situations come in life where you’re like ‘I wish this person was alive … things wouldn’t be like this.’ But still I am grateful because it has really made me become more stronger and believe that there are certain times that you will not have people around you or someone who loves you may not be there,” Barbra said. “And if the person is not there that doesn’t mean you should also just ruin your future because the person is not there. Does it mean you should give up in life? No.”
Barbra got the job as an administrative assistant for Invisible Children as well as a position working the Legacy Scholarship program, a fund made possible by Invisible Children. Barbra has worked for the scholarship program since 2007. She said working with the scholarship program has been the greatest thing to happen to her because it gave her the opportunity to interact with the children who receive the scholarship.
“These are kids who — I would say 80 percent of them — have a similar story to mine and some of them don’t have a mom, don’t have a dad, they just live on their own,” Barbra said. “Working with them — using my life story as an example to them to encourage them … is one thing that I do a lot and they don’t feel any different from you.”
She said the greatest reward is seeing the children graduate who are supported by the scholarship.
“I’ve seen three different graduations … it really feels very good because when you look at them you just smile and end up shedding tears because you know who they are and where they’ve been,” Barbra said.
Barbra said she plans to work for Invisible Children for a few more years before resigning to focus on her own business — cake making.
“I bake cakes for weddings and other things. It depends what the customer wants, but majorly cakes for functions,” Barbra said.
Barbra began baking three years ago and now runs a small business in Gulu where she still lives.
“I like it because my customers really believe in me,” Barbra said.
Barbra will return to Gulu in December at the end of her three-month tour of the United States with Invisible Children.
Barbra said her first trip to the U.S. has been enjoyable aside from her first run-in with coffee.
“I was shaking, I thought I was falling ill,” Barbra said. “I don’t know how you all drink so much coffee. American’s they take one cup after the other and I just don’t know how.”
Barbra was assigned to the Pacific Northwest region and said she believes she was assigned the most beautiful region of the U.S.
“I love it. When we were driving everything was so nice and green. I love the region, and I love the people. They are all so nice,” Barbra said. “I’m happy that I have gotten the opportunity to support my family.”
Kaitlyn Krasselt can be reached at [email protected]