Redefining Africa's Future

Working in South Sudan taught me lessons about power, authority, and survival that I'll never forget. Some moments were uncomfortable, others eye-opening, but all were crucial in helping me understand working in the context of conflict.   Growing up in Uganda in the 1990s, my view of soldiers was shaped by fear. Soldiers were figures of authority who couldn't be questioned. I remember the violence of the National Resistance Army (NRA) and later the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) in northern Uganda. They were often brutal and showed little regard for civilians' rights.   This fear of soldiers stayed with me as I got older. In 2015, I took a Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) course in South Africa, where the trainer made one thing very clear: "The man or woman with a gun makes the rules." The message was simple: when dealing with soldiers, you obey.   When I arrived in South Sudan in 2015, I found myself in a situation that would challenge eve...

When I landed in Kuajok, Warrap State, South Sudan, in March 2015, I had no idea what awaited me. The project I was stepping into, funded by the World Bank, was meant to improve local governance and service delivery. However, instead of having a project ready to launch, I faced many problems. It was months behind schedule, underperforming, and the team I was inheriting seemed just as lost as the project itself.   As a young manager with little field experience in a place like South Sudan, the pressure was intense. To make matters worse, I had no laptop, proper induction, and little information on the work so far. The first quarterly report was fast approaching, and there was nothing to report. The task seemed insurmountable, and I felt the weight of everyone's expectations resting on my shoulders. But panic wasn't an option. I knew I had to find a way to turn things around.   I drew on lessons from my previous job with the Norwegian Refugee Council, where I worked unde...

People always say humanitarian work is full of sacrifices. But let me tell you, you don't get what that means until you're out in the field, deep in a place like South Sudan. I spent over five years working in South Sudan with three different organizations and trust me, it's a place where challenges are as constant as the dust in the air. I've seen everything from navigating political tensions with the government to figuring out how to motivate a team under extreme stress. But none of the challenges were as disturbing as the ones I encountered with snakes.   Now, South Sudan is infamous for being a snake country. Every time you step outside, you must keep your eyes on the ground—especially in Upper Nile, Warrap, Jonglei, and Pibor Administrative areas where I worked. Snakes were everywhere. In the bushes, the compounds, and sometimes even inside your room. I'm not talking about some harmless little garden snakes but the big, venomous ones. Imagine walking barefoot i...

In 1998, I joined Bishop Angelo Negri College in Gulu, Uganda. I was an adolescent. Little did I know that my adolescent adventures would soon lead me to a police arrest at a girls' school, a shirtless 'sentence', and an unforgettable lesson. Bishop Angelo Negri College is a boy boarding school owned by the catholic church. Students from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds attended Negri College school then. Being a single-sex school, the lack of female company was a significant problem. Our solution was simple: escape our school's confines and go to other schools with girls. Though fenced and heavily guarded, the neighbouring Sacred Heart Secondary School was too tempting to resist. So, my friends and I would often sneak out of Negri College school to chat with the occasional Sacred Heart School girls through their school fence or simply walk past the school and enjoy seeing beautiful girls moving around the school campus. This was the charm at the time, and w...

In 2005, my friends, cousin, and I travelled from Gulu, Uganda, to Kampala to attend my cousin Douglas's graduation party. He had just graduated from Makerere University Business School with a bachelor’s degree, and we were excited to celebrate this significant milestone with him. The party took place at our uncle's home in Ntinda, and it was a fantastic event filled with food and drinks. The party ended on Saturday night, and we planned to travel back to Gulu on Sunday so we could be in school on Monday. Before leaving, we were invited to enjoy some leftovers and drink at our uncle's place. We indulged in the food and drinks, not knowing that these choices would later cause problems on our journey back to Gulu. Our Troubles Begin Sundays are typically not the best days to travel by public transportation. There are usually fewer travellers, and buses often take longer to find enough passengers before departing. It was a common practice for bus owners to cancel trips if ...

While campaigning in Gulu Town in November, former Makerere University vice chancellor and independent presidential candidate, Prof Venansius Baryamureeba, promised to institute a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate atrocities committed in northern Uganda. Despite the prevailing peace in the region, some questions continue to be asked by victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)-UPDF war if those who committed crimes against them will ever be held accountable. Unfortunately for the victims, the government of Uganda has been quiet despite several calls from the civil society and politicians that a truth and reconciliation commission be set up to investigate the violations by both the LRA and UPDF and bring perpetrators to justice. Analysts argue that the government is worried about unearthing its own crimes, committed by the UPDF. They point out that the lack of significant steps to understand and heal the past could spiral more violence and conflict in future. T...

--> Written by Alex Okello Ouma At Okol primary school in Omot sub-county in Pader, studying under the tree is all but normal to an estimated 300 pupils. According to the head teacher, Mr. Omech Ben Robert, some pupils walk for over 5 kilometers to and fro school every day because of their desire and willingness to learn but quite often get scared away for the harsh and unfriendly school environment. Okol primary school has no class room structure except a tent that was supplied by Unicef. He added that since the start of the first term of 2010, his school has registered an increase in enrolment from 150 to close to 300 children but expressed a big worry over the retention of such children in school. The case of Okol primary school is but one out of the many schools in northern Uganda that have harsh or hostile learning environments. A recent survey with over 400 children in Kitgum and Pader revealed that corporal punishment in schools, lack of seating facilities, inad...