Africa-Press – Uganda. A boy, who was trafficked from Karamoja to Kampala, wants to become an engineer.
He was 5 years old when the incident happened.
In 2006, John Lokee was convinced by his aunt to leave Napak District and stay with her in Kampala since his mother, who was mentally unstable, could not provide proper care.
He, however, endured physical abuse at the hands of his aunt to the extent that he made the decision to flee, after which he was taken on by Uganda Change Agent Association (UCAA), an NGO, which picked him from the streets and funded his education.
He said before UCAA picked him from the streets, he used to steal “anything valuable” and sell it in order to get money to buy something to eat.
Lokee, who is now 23 years, was taken to a rehabilitation home in Kobulin, Napak under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, after which he was reunited with family in 2014 at the age of 13.
Mr Lokee told Daily Monitor that he was a street beggar for seven years.
“I am here but don’t know who my biological father is. My mother’s condition cannot let me know, while my aunt used my mother’s sickness for her personal gain,” he said on Tuesday.
Lokee added that he enrolled in Primary Three at Apectolim Primary School in Napak and scored Aggregate 17 in the Primary Leaving Examinations and later joined Moroto High School, where he scored Aggregate 42 in Senior Four.
He is currently studying Physics, Economics, Mathematics and ICT at the same school.
“During the holidays, I take care of myself at home. Through counselling I have learnt to stay [adapt] to the unfaourable environment at home,” he added.
Mr Julius Imuko, the Napak field programme officer, described Lokee’s story as “painful”.
He said many youths who have been picked from Kampala and reunited with their parents are being trained in carpentry and bricklaying, among others.
Mr Imuko said: “The vocational training applies for youths who cannot go through the formal education system. Every year, there are about 150 street children being returned to Karamoja from Kampala streets and reunited with their relatives.”
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
