“One Teacher [said], ‘If you lose your own father, what you should put first is God. Why? Because He is the source of life.”
Angok’s father was shot and killed during the war in South Sudan. Fleeing for their lives, Angok, his siblings and pregnant mother headed to Uganda. Sadly, his mother lost her baby during the frantic escape. Eventually arriving safely in Uganda, but drowning in loss, grief and sorrow, Angok’s mother soon became overwhelmed at the desperate situation. Tragically, less than a month later, Angok’s mother fell sick and died despite receiving medical assistance. Now Angok was orphaned, and relying on his older sister – still in primary school – to look after him. This child-headed home felt abandoned and isolated in a foreign country. His sister dropped out of school and got married in an attempt to better provide, but hunger remained a constant companion. “There is no one who can support me to pay the school fees,” says Angok. “There is no one who can buy for me clothes. I can just call God and tell Him, ‘You will give the person who can do these things.’”
His faith sustains his spirit – and the meals he receives through Feed The Hungry keeps his body and mind healthy and nourished. At school, Angok finds solace in the presence of his best friend in class who often lends him his pens and pencils to write down the lessons they learn.
“If there’s no food here at school, and there’s no food from home, you will not be alive. You will just die,” he says. “But if there’s food here at school, at least, then that is good for a school child!”