Every child abducted by Joseph Kony’s rebel army is robbed of his childhood and a normal life — until he escapes. This is the story of a new beginning.
Charles (striped shirt) is welcomed home by members of his community.
On an afternoon in 2003, Otim Charles was 16 as he ran for his life away from LRA rebels. They caught him and took him across Uganda, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan over the next nine years. During that time, Charles grew weary of senseless fighting and violence. Charles and two of his friends made a plan to escape, and on a spring night in 2013, Charles finally left the LRA. In his escape, he encountered a civilian in Congo who helped him find counter-LRA forces, the UPDF soldiers.
Today at age 25, Charles has begun a new life. He is grateful to be back home after many years in captivity. As a member of the Teso tribe, Charles is reconnecting with his root by learning the Ateso language, his mother tongue. While Charles continues to seek psychosocial, moral and spiritual support from his family, community, and the Children of War Rehabilitation Center during his reintegration, he also plans to pursue carpentry and start a piggery project.
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