Esther’s Story

Esther was born in the Moroto region where she lived with her mother, father, and 6 siblings. There were 4 girls and three boys. Life in Moroto had always been hard for the family. They had to struggle with tribal and civil wars, constant hunger, and terrifying drought in the area. In 2006, Esther’s father was shot and killed by rebels and shortly after, their home was destroyed. She was very young when he died, so she says she does not remember her father at all. It was not long after her father died, that her mother could no longer support her children, so three of the children (Brenda, Friday and Esther) were sent to live with their aunt in Jinja.

Life was better in Jinja, but not much. Their auntie lived in a slum called Masese, and it became the children’s job to run to the streets daily to search through rubbish pits for enough sustenance to survive. Esther was not able to attend school because there was no money to pay for school fees. Her aunt’s husband was an alcoholic and used to beat his wife and all of the children. Esther reports that she and her siblings were beaten, starved and mistreated the most because they were not his biological children.

In 2008, The Peace for Paul Foundation met Esther’s brother, Friday, on the streets where he had fled. Soon after, Esther and Brenda were able to join the Peace for Paul family and attend school. All three of the siblings are now together and off of the streets, looking toward a future full of hope.

Esther now attends a highly ranked secondary boarding school and has big dreams to become a doctor in the future. During school holidays, Esther travels back to Northern Uganda (with her siblings Brenda and Friday) to learn about and be a part of their culture.  We have recently located Esther’s mother and  few of her aunties and cousins as well. She enjoys spending time with them during holidays and does her best to help them wherever he can.