Full Ocaya Jimmy Speech

http://http://vimeo.com/16956228

Abduction and torture are two things most University of Wisconsin students don’t have to deal with on a daily basis, but for one Ugandan student the dangers have plagued him nearly his entire life.

Ocaya Jimmy told his story to the audience of more than 120 people, who sat silent, struck by the young man standing before them who overcame so much.

Born in Northern Uganda, Jimmy lived with his parents and older sister until they divorced when he was 5-years-old. He moved to another village to live with his grandparents.

When Jimmy was 10 years old, the Lord’s Resistance Army – a rebel army that aims to overthrow the Ugandan government – invaded the village and abducted Jimmy along with four of his cousins.

The LRA tortured one of his cousins right in front of the other four. Jimmy said they let his cousin go when they found out he had tuberculosis, but that was after they finished torturing him.

After two weeks in captivity, Jimmy escaped. He along with two other children saw their chance when the government army ambushed the LRA group they were with.

“The three of us dropped onto the ground and after the firing were rescued by the government soldiers,” he said.

Jimmy lived with his uncle, and his father supported him until he died. After Jimmy’s father died, he had to support himself to the point where he dropped out of school to survive.

“I lost the hope of living,” he said.

For two and half years Jimmy tried to live without an education. He tried to join the government army, but was rejected because he was too young.

That was when he heard about Invisible Children’s Legacy Scholarship Fund. He applied and received the chance to go back to school.

He finished high school and will attend college, where he hopes to learn more about agriculture.

Since education opened up new doors for Jimmy, he believes it could do the same for other children impacted by the war.

“I have one belief: The only way to bring back and restore the belief of the child soldiers is education,” he said.

Jimmy’s mentor Richard Mark also spoke to the crowd. A mentor for four years and counting, Mark said the most difficult part of his job is interviewing scholarship applicants and telling them they might not receive it.

Three friends searching for a story in the Sudan started the organization after seeing the impact of the war on the people of Northern Uganda.

Groups travel to schools and colleges across the country aiming to spread awareness about the more than 20-year-long war in Uganda, and also to raise money to support scholarships such as the one Jimmy received.

UW sophomore Becky Hall said she attended the event because she heard about the work Invisible Children does, and also because she spent the summer in Tanzania – Uganda’s neighboring country to the south.

The documentary reminded Hall of what she saw in Tanzania, she said, adding groups such as Invisible Children help make a difference simply by informing people.

“I guess change comes with knowledge and awareness, and it’s groups like this and organizations like this that really motivate that,” Hall said.