Joel, father of Odessa and Reia: The situation in South Sudan isn’t stable. We left there and came to Uganda because of the war, when Odessa was about five years old, and Reia was still a baby. We had suffered a lot, and we are better off here in because we have safety and help. In South Sudan, girls of fourteen or younger are married off, only to end up suffering more in these marriages. I never wanted to feel so desperate to do that. I want my girls to have good futures.

As a father, I want my children to succeed. I want them to be able to get a good education, as where we were in South Sudan, there are no schools, no health facilities, and limited access to safe water and nutritious foods. Even though there is never enough food even now, we sleep peacefully here in Uganda. We don’t hear sounds of weapons and war. I have heard the success stories from the Heroes Journey from my girls, and I can see the results with my own eyes. My children come back home and tell me about what they’ve learned, like the story of Joseph and all he had to work to overcome, too. The children are very happy with the program. Now, when they come home, they jump in and ask their mother how they can help. They have started preforming better in school, and the program has added so much knowledge on them, they even teach what they learned to other children here in the community.

Odessa (11 years old): In the program, we heard the story of Bob the Balloon. He was a short tempered person, who couldn’t control his anger. Eventually he burst because he was full of anger. The story taught me if we live our lives like Bob, we can’t live peacefully with people. That we should learn to forgive, and control our emotions. Knowing this has made me a kinder and more generous person. Now, there’s peace in our home because we’ve learned to control ourselves when we become upset.

Reia (8 years old): I can remember the story of Joseph, and how his own brothers decided to kill him because they were jealous. Then he was sold and was forced to leave his own country and home. Even after all those bad things, he still had hope, and faith in God. Even after he was thrown in prison. But God took care of Joseph, and he gave him a good future and the chance to forgive his brothers. From that story, I learned to have faith, and hope for my future, too. Learning about hope made us change our behavior, and helped us have that hope for our entire family.

Because of the generosity of people like you, Joel’s family has found emotional healing. BUT there are thousands of people just like Afran with stories that are yet to end with hope. Help Tutapona bring hope and healing by donating today.

*Names have been changed to protect the individuals and the family.