The Day Armed Men Robbed Us at Gunpoint
The day I’ll never forget was in 2015, when my younger sister and I were traveling from our home town to Narus to begin a new school term in South Sudan. We were excited, hopeful, and ready to return to St. Bakhita Girls Primary School—but we had no idea of the danger ahead. As our bus made its way through a remote stretch of road, South Sudan, we were stopped by a group of armed robbers. They forced everyone off the bus at gunpoint. My sister and I were terrified. I felt like I was not in my body.
The robbers ordered us to lie flat on the ground while they beat the two men traveling with us and the driver. We stayed frozen, praying they wouldn’t hurt us. Eventually, the robbers took everything—our bags, money, clothes, even our shoes—and left us stranded with nothing.
Two hours later, we finally reached a town midway to our destination, exhausted, shaken, and completely alone in a place we had never been before. With no money or contacts, we spent the night alone at the bus station. In the morning, a young man approached us and asked where we were from. I told him our tribe and where we were from. Amazingly, he was too. He took us to his uncle’s home, where we stayed safely for two days while we waited for our father to send money for us to complete our journey to Narus.
But even after we made it to school, my struggles didn’t end. When I arrived at St. Bakhita, I was told I had been demoted from Primary 8 to Primary 7. It was a huge disappointment—not just for me, but for my family. I was the one who had asked to study in Narus, and my father was so disappointed in me. I was overwhelmed with stress and self-doubt.
Still, I refused to give up. In Primary 7, I worked hard and finished near the top of my class. That achievement earned me promotion back to Primary 8, where I became a Mercy Beyond Borders Scholar.
Staff update: Now 27, she is married, a mother of one, and remains an MBB Scholar as she attends university where she is studying to be a nurse. On track to graduate in 2026, she is already making a positive impact on the health of her community. Whenever neighbors face health challenges, they come to her for assistance. She educates her community about the importance of hygiene as preventative medicine and of seeking health services early before illnesses become dire.
Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to learn more about the challenges and triumphs of women and girls living in extreme poverty in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi & Haiti.
