My name is Fabian* and I am 13 years old. I have lived in Uganda for 7 years. Before I came to Uganda, I was living in D.R. Congo with my parents and 2 siblings. We came in August 2013.

I remember when we came to Uganda, we left Congo because of war. The M23 rebels came and killed my father so we decided to run. It took us 3 days to get to Uganda. We didn't know anyone when we came here. 

When I got to Uganda I felt very happy because there was no war here. I felt that there was peace. Coronavirus is a deadly disease. The people around me are scared because they think that when it reaches us, it will kill us like it has killed other people. I get scared thinking about it. Before the Coronavirus came, I used to go to school but sometimes there is no money to pay my school fees, so I just read, study, and work - like digging on the farm.

I used to enjoy cultivating in our garden, but a while back the land we were using for our small farm was taken away and they gave it to new refugees when they arrived. Now, for food my mother does casual labor so that we can eat.

Education is important to me because when someone goes to school and finishes school they will get a job and live a good life. I want to study and I want to be a doctor, but I can’t do that without school.

When I heard about the Heroes Journey I did not want to come as it was during the time I help my mother with her work so we can buy food for the family. But, I came because I wanted to learn more. By the end of the program, I started loving it.

The Heroes Journey has helped me learn many things - things that a hero must have to help him in life such as belief, gratitude and courage to forgive. They are very valuable to me because if someone has wronged you it is important to forgive knowing that one day you will also need forgiveness.

I was able to forgive, and it helped me and that person when I forgave them. A story I remember during the program is the stories of Tendo and Emmanuel. In Emmanuel's Dream, I learnt to believe and work hard so that you get what you believe in. In Tendo's Wish, I learnt about being kind. 

I am feeling good after attending the program because it taught me to be able to forgive and work hard and get what we expect to have. That is hope. Hope, they taught us, is the way you think about something and you focus and work hard towards getting that. My hope is to study well. My mother and I are constructing a house but the big problem is that we don't have the money and the materials we need yet, but we plan to work hard so that we can get that. We have hope for our home.

Fabian* (name changed to protect his identity) is one of 18 children who graduated from our first post-lockdown Heroes Journey program. He is also one of over half a million children who have been forcibly displaced, living in Uganda as refugees. For so many of these children, COVID-19 simply means uncertainty - uncertainty about schooling, about the future, and with rations cut drastically, uncertainty about food sources.

Coupled with the generalized fear that COVID has brought, and their experiences becoming refugees, this has been a very difficult time for too many children. Tutapona works to be a beacon of hope in these times. Our Heroes Journey continues to equip children like Fabian* with the skills they need not only to survive but to thrive through adversity.

Would you consider partnering with Tutapona to keep this highly valuable program running amidst this pandemic? Click the donate button below to come along on this Heroes Journey.