Peter Lomuyak, 15  years old is in primary three at  Aywee Primary School in  Palabek Refugee Settlement in Uganda.

He fled the South Sudan war to Uganda. Peter shares his story and ambitions.

‘When I lived in South Sudan, I went to school – for three years, until my father died and we could not afford the  tuition anymore. When I arrived in Uganda it had been four years since I had last set foot in a classroom. I did not really think about going back to school, but some of our new neighbours encouraged me to go. “If  you do not go to school, you will never make anything of yourself”, they said. So I gave it a chance’, Peter Lomuyak  says.

He comes from the part of South Sudan called  East Equatoria.  Here the war combined with severe drought have made it very difficult for the citizens to get enough to eat. Hunger is also the main reason why Peter ended up fleeing to Uganda with his older sister and her four children. They have been here since March 2018.

’Now we are trying to build a life here. I hope to become a teacher  one day, get a job and make a bit of money. The teachers support and encourage me when I struggle in school. I am a lot older that the other pupils in my class, and that bothers me. But I try not  to  feel  ashamed. Poverty and war are the reason why I have fallen behind, and all I want to do now is try to catch up’.

’Education for Life’ in South Sudan and Uganda was a four-year project implemented by Oxfam and partners (2019 - 2023) under the European Union programme titled ‘Building Resilience in Crisis through Education’ (BRiCE), co-funded by Danida.

Learn more about the ‘Building Resilience in Crisis through Education’ (BRiCE) project.

By Malene Aadal Bo