My Name is Anna*, I am 13 years old. I am in fourth grade at school, I really enjoy it! I enjoy learning how to write. I’ve been in Uganda for almost 6 years, I was 7 years old when I came here. I lived in Juba before, I remember the fighting, I remember having to drink sewer water, I remember the armed gunmen who would come and loot and kill. It was very scary.

I remember leaving there to come here. It was really tough. Our mother was encouraged to bring us to safety here in Uganda. It was my mother, one brother and one sister. Our journey took 6 days to get here, we saw many soldiers along the roadside with guns, I was so afraid. We left in the morning and by the evening we had reached the border. We stopped at the reception centre for 5 days while we were processed as refugees. 

When I arrived here I was relieved, but at night I couldn’t sleep - my mind was full of so many thoughts. Even during the day, I would just sit there, feeling miserable. BUT, God is good. My mother was told about Tutapona and the Heroes Journey and when I found out that I was coming here I was very happy. I’ve learned about the power of courage, and of hope. I learned about a man called Emmanuel, a man who learned to work hard. Emmanuel only has one leg, but he wanted to ride a bicycle. He would fall off, but then keep getting up. He trained very hard and in time he learned how to ride his bicycle. He decided to ride far across the country and he became like a hero because of his victory. The media and all the people know about Emmanuel. It taught me that learning is a gradual process, you learn every day and then you win. I feel like this is something I can do, and it has inspired me to study hard so that I can accomplish my dreams and support my family. When I grow up I want to be an accountant in a bank so that I can continue helping people.

This program is strengthening my brain. Deep breathing is helping me to remain calm and to think clearly and to reason better. It makes me feel fresh again. I learned from the program that if I am angry or anxious, I can control those emotions and even use some of the tools to change that.

I’ve learned to appreciate things more. Like if the water is only half in the bottle, it means that I can focus on the fact that it is half full and I can see it in a good way, changing the negative to positive. This is what I learned about gratitude. 

I learned the powers of a hero, to be thankful, to have faith and hope. Now, since being in the program I sleep better. Sometimes I still feel like I’m not ok, but I know I’m still getting better, and I have hope for my future that it will continue to get better.