My name is Christine Apio.

I was born in 993 in a small village called Chukudum in the Western Equatoria region of S. Sudan. Actually I grew up there with my twin sister and sibling. My parents took care of us until we became old enough to help on the farm. We used to rely on agriculture in order to survive. Due to lack of advanced equipment, people work manually but harvest a lot to feed their families.

It happened one day that civil war arose. My mother was going about her daily activity while my father was away on a journey and we were left alone at home. I was shocked to see our neighbor’s house burnt down. Everyone ran for safety. My sibling and I took another route because we did not want to lose our lives. We walked for a long distance following some others. We sheltered in a cave where it was terribly congested and hot, but we never minded as long as we were alive.

For two days I never heard any news about my parents. I thought they had died. For all the days we spent in the cave, we went without food but we were lucky to get water. One morning my uncle emerged from nowhere and I was very excited because I thought it was the end of my suffering. He took us to a place called Narus. It was safe there. We stayed there for more than a month until my parents arrived. The following morning we boarded a vehicle and rode to Kenya. That was in 1998. We came to Lokichoggio where we found many refugees settling. The following morning we registered. Conditions were not favorable due to the large number of people. Two weeks later, a lorry came and took us to Kakuma refugee camp. In the camp, the UNHCR provided us with food, shelter and other basic needs. There are also schools and hospitals free of charge.

During my childhood, I used to climb hills with my friends, make small houses using grass. Sometimes we spent long hours in those thatch houses. I was interested in exploring new areas to see what is not from my area and what people of different nationalities practice. Usually after my day’s work, we gathered with friends and danced our traditional dances as others sang wedding songs. Sometimes we went swimming in the river and watched birds singing softly.

I started my primary education in the camp in 2001. Though the school was not very good, my parents encouraged me to work hard. Life was so difficult. In 2008 I sat for my Kenya certificate of primary education and managed to get good marks that enabled me to go to high school. I always thought when I completed my studies, I would like to become a politician to help stop corruption in my country.

One of the remarkable days in my life was when I performed the oral narrative, I was dressing traditional so it was exciting. It made people in the hall to burst out in laughter. I was proud of myself; as the saying goes, “If you abandon your culture you become a slave.” The day I will never forget is when my aunty and I traveled to Lokichoggio and had an accident. The vehicle lurched and fell and got stuck in the mud. It was unfortunate that two people died and some others were injured, including my aunt.

An interesting fact about me is that I easily get annoyed but if I do it does not last long. I like writing poems and reciting, too. My best subjects in school are Chemistry, CRE, History and Government, and Business Studies. My favorite book is, Think Big. I am very grateful to New Scholars for giving me this scholarship privilege; I am sure now that I am going to make it in life.