Susan, aged 13 first came to CRO Lira drop centre in 2014 after engaging in child labour on the streets of Lira town, Northern Uganda as a result of the harsh living conditions at home where they could hardly find food, clothing and neither go to school.
Born in 2008, Mercy a 2nd born in a family of 3 children lost her father when she was only 2 years. Due to cultural beliefs, her mother was mistreated by her in-laws as they took all the property that was owned by their late father / husband respectively.
Vicky is a total orphan. She recently became an orphan due to a natural disaster that took place in Nametsi her home area where both parents were buried by a landslide in 2009. Many other people were also buried alive and very few people survived.
Vicky and her brother survived because they were in school which was far from the incident.
Alice is a karamojong girl aged 9 years and a second born out of 5 children. Of these one is a boy and four are girls. She lives in Namatala slum in a rented grass thatched structure. Both her parents are alive though Alice’s father abandoned the family and does not provide any support.
My parents left their original home because of land problems in which they nearly lost their lives. They settled in Namatala slum in Mbale. After a short while, my father left us and we have never seen him again. We did not have anyone to buy food for us, so I escorted my mother to the town to beg.
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