The Acholi Tribe

Gulu, Uganda; Thursday, May 28



We drove a few miles outside of Gulu to an Acholi Village that had just returned to claim its land after being forced to leave one of the IDP Camps. They are in the process of starting over. Nothing was left, so all of their huts had to be rebuilt. A temporary wood schoolroom was built so the children could begin their education. The villagers were taught to make bricks, so a small schoolhouse is being built in order to promote the education of the tribe’s children. Education is the pivotal point for survival.

World Help has donated 1 pig to this particular village in order for it to give birth to piglets. One piglet can be sold for 100,000 shillings, which will provide the funds to send one child from the tribe to school for one year.

This village had a lot of children. And one thing I have discovered about these trips is that the children love to see themselves on the LCD screen on my camera. So I joined them in the shade of the mango trees and began photographing their beautiful little faces. But I noticed with these children that they didn’t recognize their faces, which leads me to believe that they probably have never seen themselves. So as I photographed, they began to understand. It was them! And then the laughter broke out. I will never forget this moment, as their shrieks filled the air for those fifteen minutes. If just for that short time, I could bring joy into their lives, then my purpose is complete.