Thank you for sharing this powerful story with us. Could you tell us about what inspired you to write it?

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The title of my story is, 'Safe passages'. The reason I chose to write this story is because, although I added some parts, it is based on how I experienced challenges during the entrance in Nakivale camp, and how my arrival in Uganda was a solution to many of my family’s problems. 

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What messages do you hope your readers will take away from your story?

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I would like readers to learn from my story how war can destroy people’s lives through the loss of their properties and livelihoods. My story is not a fiction but the real life of what children like me are experiencing in these wartorn countries. And I want my readers to understand how hard it is and to feel that they are advocating for peace across the globe so that no more children endure these circumstances any more. 

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What is the point of storytelling to you? Why do we tell stories, what do they do for us, and what purpose do they serve?

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The point of storytelling to me is, I gain new knowledge from it. Sometimes we tell stories to have fun, and sometimes we tell stories because we believe that there is a lesson in stories we tell that people can gain from them. Some stories make us enjoy and others make us remember the hard times we have experienced. Then they give us some hope.

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Did your story change over the course of your participation in the storytelling workshops? How?

 

Yes, because it opens the thinking capacity of my brain and it makes me enjoy sharing my story. I changed my story by selecting words that can be globally understood and revised passages to make them strong and touching.

 

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How does your story offer an alternative path, point of view, or way forward? How does it speak to the possibility of an otherwise? 

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It speaks about the challenge I experienced with me and my family, and how Nakivale camp of Uganda brought us hope for living when we stepped foot in it. My story also offers perspective on how wars are affecting all aspects of children’s lives, from education to social life, and even their safety to go on living.