A Case Study from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Prossy Akello: A young displaced woman realizes her dream to become a doctor
Like most students in medical school, Prossy sometimes has trouble believing that she will soon realize her dream of becoming a doctor. But as she tells the story of the challenges she has already overcome, it is difficult to believe that anything could stop her.
Prossy, now 23, was born two years before civil war broke out in her country, Uganda. The youngest of nine children, she was in primary school when her father was abducted by a rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army. When she looks back on her early education experiences, most of what she remembers is fear. Walking to and from school, or even in their classrooms, children were at risk of abduction.
Prossy's father eventually escaped the LRA, but when he returned he was too brutalized to work to support the family. "He was weak, because of the beating," Prossy explains. Prossy's mother struggled to sustain the family financially, by brewing and selling alcohol and by selling vegetables she grew on the family's land. Her six older brothers eventually dropped out of school, in part due to the economic hardship they faced. Despite this, Prossy and her two sisters managed to finish elementary school - a remarkable achievement in a region in which, today, only 20% of children achieve a primary education.
However, the costs of secondary school were too great for her family to bear, and Prossy was unable to continue after completing elementary school. For two years, she stayed at home to help her family, working as a paid volunteer for the international organization World Vision.
In May 2001, Prossy's supervisor at World Vision selected her to participate in the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children's Youth Participatory Research Study. Prossy feels that the experience helped her learn some useful new skills, and the confidence to speak publicly on behalf of other young people. However, the most important benefit of her experience was the opportunity to travel to the United States as a representative of the group to conduct advocacy in Washington, D.C. and New York City. There, she met Amanda, an American woman who now provides Prossy with financial support to continue her education. "To crown it all, that is the best thing I have gained! Because I got a sponsor, and I am able to be what I want. Which many people out here don't have this. So I'm really proud of that." Prossy describes her sponsor as " motherly," adding, "she gives me advice apart from funds. She encourages me to continue, even when it gets tough. And I tell her, 'It's tough! The road is really tough!' so she encourages me. She's a nice lady."
Prossy lives in Gulu in northern Uganda today, and will begin her final year of her medical studies next year.
Jenny Perlman Robinson
Protection Program Officer, Children and Youth
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Like most students in medical school, Prossy sometimes has trouble believing that she will soon realize her dream of becoming a doctor. But as she tells the story of the challenges she has already overcome, it is difficult to believe that anything could stop her.
Prossy, now 23, was born two years before civil war broke out in her country, Uganda. The youngest of nine children, she was in primary school when her father was abducted by a rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army. When she looks back on her early education experiences, most of what she remembers is fear. Walking to and from school, or even in their classrooms, children were at risk of abduction.
Prossy's father eventually escaped the LRA, but when he returned he was too brutalized to work to support the family. "He was weak, because of the beating," Prossy explains. Prossy's mother struggled to sustain the family financially, by brewing and selling alcohol and by selling vegetables she grew on the family's land. Her six older brothers eventually dropped out of school, in part due to the economic hardship they faced. Despite this, Prossy and her two sisters managed to finish elementary school - a remarkable achievement in a region in which, today, only 20% of children achieve a primary education.
However, the costs of secondary school were too great for her family to bear, and Prossy was unable to continue after completing elementary school. For two years, she stayed at home to help her family, working as a paid volunteer for the international organization World Vision.
In May 2001, Prossy's supervisor at World Vision selected her to participate in the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children's Youth Participatory Research Study. Prossy feels that the experience helped her learn some useful new skills, and the confidence to speak publicly on behalf of other young people. However, the most important benefit of her experience was the opportunity to travel to the United States as a representative of the group to conduct advocacy in Washington, D.C. and New York City. There, she met Amanda, an American woman who now provides Prossy with financial support to continue her education. "To crown it all, that is the best thing I have gained! Because I got a sponsor, and I am able to be what I want. Which many people out here don't have this. So I'm really proud of that." Prossy describes her sponsor as " motherly," adding, "she gives me advice apart from funds. She encourages me to continue, even when it gets tough. And I tell her, 'It's tough! The road is really tough!' so she encourages me. She's a nice lady."
Prossy lives in Gulu in northern Uganda today, and will begin her final year of her medical studies next year.
Jenny Perlman Robinson
Protection Program Officer, Children and Youth
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
