I am a former refugee child, born from 2 refugee parents - one
lost both parents and another separated with them due to wars. I
am calling for the support of refugee children, and the victims
of the DRC massacre. My name is Neema Gloria Wereje, and I am 18
years old.
Born from extremely poor refugee parents, my father was
separated from his parents at a young age while my mother lost
both parents when she was around 4 years old. At my birth, I
spent weeks without clothes as a baby, and grew up in tough
conditions. Due to this my father was most of the time absent,
for his education and our wellbeing. But also he sacrificed his
time and life striving to provide education to thousands of
other refugee children…having opportunities in the USA, it is my
call to join those changing lives of suffering children.
Until the age of 11, I lived in a Kyangwali refugee camp with
over 40,000 people, located in Hoima district, Uganda. Poverty
in my family was so extreme that getting something to eat or
wear was nearly impossible. I witnessed many suffering families.
My dad always traveled to Kampala to further his education while
mom stayed at home taking care of us. Because of dad’s tender,
heartfelt love for the poor and his desire to change the
community, he started an organization called CIYOTA (Coburwas
International Youth Organization to Transform Africa) to support
helpless people in the Camp. From zero, raising funds by farming
for people, CIYOTA has sponsored over 2,000 conflict-affected
children in primary – and I am one of CIYOTA primary school
beneficiaries. CIYOTA has also educated over 1,000 youths who
have finished high school, 62 are attending various universities
across the world. CIYOTA directly impacts over 84,000 people,
and CIYOTA graduates are the future leaders to build a peaceful
and competitive continent.
Because of his work, I had many opportunities open for me, such
as learning English at a very young age which was never possible
for 95% of children. Most parents never took education seriously
because they never went to school, so they thought that their
children should go and farm every day instead of them attending
school even when it was free. Later, we moved to Uganda’s
capital city, Kampala, where we lived for about four years. Then
my father arranged for my mother, brothers, sister, and me to go
to the USA with the support of the UNHCR (United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees).
Life in a new country challenged me because I had to adapt to a
new language, new people, new schools, and a new Seventh Day
Adventist church that helped us. I came to the US without my
father, which made life more difficult for me and my siblings
and mom. We moved to Michigan because my uncle resides here, and
he is helpful to mom and all of us. Despite the many challenges,
I was so excited because I knew life would be much better than
in the camp. I sleep on a better mattress, and in a better room;
I go to an outstanding school. I have developed a sense of humor
and become more compassionate. Step by step, I started visioning
my future.
At the moment, I see myself most of the time visiting many
places in the World, listening to many stories from different
people, especially women, and using them to change lives. I
envision myself gathering young women at places, helping to
teach and train them to start a business for themselves so they
can make a living and guiding them on how helpful it is for a
young woman to pursue education first before marriage because it
earns her much respect from the family and people around her. It
also makes her a better life than she would have if she got
married at a very young age.
Witnessing hardships opened my eyes in many ways. During my
life, I saw children sitting on the streets, not having someone
to call a parent, going in the trash for food and clothes, being
mistreated by people. These experiences inspire me to help
children in need when I have my education, explicitly starting
an orphanage and providing opportunities for other children like
me.
What is happening right now - this moment - in the DRC is
unimaginable. I refuse to share images with you but know this;
there is a massacre happening in Ituri province. Many of whom
are parents of small children, are being beheaded by rival
tribes for their land. Right now, their children are orphaned
and alone, trying to comprehend what they witnessed and trying
desperately to fend for themselves. History from my childhood
threatens to repeat itself, and I won’t stand by and watch.
While CIYOTA supports multilateral interventions to the violence
with CIYOTA work on the ground to negotiate the peace, I can’t
stop thinking about urgent questions. Where will the children
left behind sleep tonight? Where will they live? How will they
care for themselves? How will they learn? Thrive?
This GoFundMe campaign is to give 20 children in Ituri province
a second chance at life. CIYOTA organization has already
identified host families in our regions of operation in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and the refugee settlement in
Uganda ready to welcome these children and raise them as their
own. We feel that these children’s lives are on the front line,
just as the pandemic is. These little children, just like us,
have witnessed unthinkable violence and experienced the
loneliness of being left behind. They will need loving homes,
medication, and excellent education to have a chance to heal,
break from poverty and earn a living. We have to help them.
Please join the CIYOTA organization and me on our journey, in
giving towards our goal of raising $15,000 that will cover
annual tuition fees, clothing, feeding, medication, and
psychosocial support for the children for one year as they
settle in.
CIYOTA is searching, and rescuing these children from internally
displaced camps, and hard to reach villages. We transport them
to safer communities where they are adopted. CIYOTA provides
education, medication, psychosocial support, and other needs.
Amidst COVID pandemic, we are dealing with a crisis within
crises. With your support:
$20 can buy 2 pair of shoes for a child
$ 25 you can buy books for one child per year
$ 70 can buy school uniforms per year
$100 can pay all annual school fees
$ 135 can contribute to food
$150 can pay for all medical bills per year.
In conclusion, CIYOTA ‘s goal is to build a peace movement of
one million students, teachers, and citizens that centers on
social innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership to design
solutions to social unrest, bridge gaps between tribes, and
build sustainable peace. We are an award-winning, people-powered
development organization in Uganda, and we are also focusing on
serving youth in the DRC. This mission is urgent.
Your support will change a life. We do not only build schools -
we do build the people.
Thank you so much in advance.
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