“With no food for several days, i turned to selling mangoes to buy real food ”.

Originating from Te-Obia, Rebecca was born in a family of 10 children; with her being the seventh kid among the 4 boys and 6 girls.

Her father is casual laborer who finds work today but not sure for tomorrow yet the mother is a house wife doing completely nothing. This leaves the family in sheer inadequacy of the basic needs –majorly food.

“When father gets no money for the day to buy food, we survive on greens from the neighborhood”, narrates Rebecca. She adds, “During a mango season, mangoes become our sole meal but no real food for several days”.

She stopped attending school in 2015 while in Primary One because her father wouldn’t afford paying school fees and none of her siblings attends school.

Under such conditions, Rebecca started gathering mangoes and selling the on the street- joining her brother who gathered waste plastic bottles for sale. With their meager earnings, they would buy some food and source in order to have a meal though the source would usually be greens.

While on the street selling mangoes, Rebecca came in contact with CRO social workers who invited her to the center in Lira. She responded to the call and two days later started going the CRO center.

“At CRO, the teachers have been talking to me since then; I attend the rehab class and participate in several activities such as prayers, games, music and dance. I enjoy playing with the other children during play time, the meals are also very good and at least I am sure to eat one good meal in a day”, says Rebecca.

She thanks CRO for identifying her and giving her an opportunity in life. Her ambition is of being a doctor and it’s her prayer to get a chance and live her dream. She says, “I hope that if I can go back to school, I will perform to my best in order to achieve the dream of being a doctor”.

Rebecca assertively states, “I am now happier than I was because i can have some food to eat and the teachers at CRO have given me HOPE that I CAN BE WHAT I WANT TO BE in the future.