bookec

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Bookec turns 1!

So, I got a beautiful email from Tumblr telling me that the Bookec tumblr became a year old on October 12!

Happy belated birthday Bookec Tumblr!

With this celebration comes the realization that there has been a few updates which you supporters, need to hear about.

One (it may sound like old news now, but the fact that Joseph Kony -- the perpetrator behind the crimes which affected the women in "Bookec" -- is close to being captured) sounds like good news!

Okay that sounds like great news but let's focus for a bit on what that means:

When I talked to Esther (one of the women in Bookec) about what her plans were before she was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel soldiers, she told me:

"When the rebels captured me. I was really frustrated. My future plan before the captivity was that, I had wanted to finish my education. If possible, I should at least earn something before I go with a man. That was my plan ahead. But now when they captured us, things have fallen apart. In fact when I was still in school. The future plan, I had wanted to be a secretary."

But Esther is a survivor, who has learned to make lemonade out of lemons. In addition to running a small grocery store, Esther is planning to start her own poultry (chicken) farm. In her words:

"These days you have to choose a business which is marketable to people. So I am planning to start doing poultry keeping."

Esther not only finds the strength to keep herself in a positive state of mind, she also helps Alice (a friend and one of the stars in Bookec, who she met during the LRA kidnapping and quickly took under her wing).

During one of the interview sessions for Bookec, Alice broke down in tears when a memory of her with the rebel soldiers crossed her mind. It was remarkable to see how kind and compassionate Esther was while consoling her. Drawing her in for a motherly hug, Esther whispered to Alice:

"Don’t try to recall what happened in the past. You just forget and be relaxed, then you will be ok. You have seen how I looked like before, but I have overcome the situation, because of making my decision through the Lord Jesus Christ. Make up your mind to be free. If you are not free in mind, then you won’t even stand firm."

So you see, it may seem like great news that Joseph Kony is about to be captured. But in the grand scheme of things, if and when this happens, the women in Bookec just want to move on with their lives. And that, is worth celebrating!

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Meet the girls: Alice Scovia Achan Okello

When I first met Alice, I was not sure what to think. She was very quiet and spoke in the lowest tone I have ever heard from an adult. She smiled every now and then and it looked like they were good friends with Esther. Later, after talking some more with her, I discovered the reason for her shyness. Alice is 28 years and lives in Ceroleno, Gulu. She was kidnapped by the LRA rebel soldiers in 2003. She has two sons, Emmanuel 8 and Jonathan 4 but also takes care of her dead sister's son John who is 12 years.

Alice (right) with Esther going through photos.

Alice and Esther first met in the bush in 2003. Because Esther was older than Alice, she took on the role of mother -- protecting Alice whenever she could and eventually, when they got a chance to escape from the rebels -- taking Alice under her wing and leading her back to their home village. To date, Alice looks up to Esther (Alice's mother died when she was 6 months old). She hopes to become a medical records keeper at Mulago hospital in Kampala. For now, she makes necklaces, earrings and handbags out of recycled paper which she sells to support her family.

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Meet the girls: Esther Adong

By now you may be familiar with the stars of the documentary film "Bookec". In an on going series about getting to know the girls better, I would like to introduce to you Esther Adong. If you missed the first segment of the series, you can catch up and get acquainted with Beatrice.

I first met Esther in 2009 through a good friend of mine Gloria Laker. You can have a glimpse of her in "Wives of War" the first cut of "Bookec".

Now check out a sneak peak preview of Esther in Bookec.

The first impression I had of Esther was how strong she was. Then I discovered that she was equally hard working. I sat down to hear Esther story and that is when I realized where she drew her strength from. Esther is 38 years and lives in Ceroleno, Gulu. She has a 14-year-son, Innocent but also looks after her dead sister’s three children, Destiny, Junior, Brian and Annet. Esther keeps a positive attitude that one day her son will get a better life than she did as a wife to a rebel soldier. In the meantime, she runs a grocery store she started with money from her farm produce. Below is Esther's mom and her aunt.

Like Beatrice, Esther has to battle with the difficulties of raising several children while dealing with HIV. Though she gets some help from the Comboni Missionaries (a local Charity in Gulu) and receives free HIV treatment from The AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Esther still struggles to make ends meet. Below is Esther and her sister's children.

Through hard work and determination, Esther started growing ginger which she later sold to a local Coca Cola plant and with that money, she opened a small grocery shop. On a good day, Esther makes Uganda shillings 20,000/= (approximately $10 USD). And on a bad day, Esther takes home as little as 5,000/= (approximately $2 USD).

How does she survive on so little, I wondered? Esther shared that she rides almost 7 miles out of town to her mother's house where she gets some produce like corn -- grown on her family's farm land. That is how she is able to feed all the children in her family. It's clear though that Esther is not one to feel sorry for her self. In fact, she laughed while explaining to me that when they came back from being in the bush with the LRA, they used to refer to them as "Bookec". The irony in this statement, Esther explained is that they didn't return with nothing and they are far from war bandits (as previously labelled).

One thing I know, Esther's determination has helped her ride through the most trying of times and I do admire her resilience. Her entrepreneurship will sure take her places and I invite you to learn from her -- just as I did.

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Meet the girls: Beatrice Ajok

As preparations to touch up the final stages of the website for the film Bookec are underway, I thought it best to introduce the girls who are featured in the film -- thus the series "Meet the girls".

Meet Beatrice Ajok. Beatrice is 28 years and lives in Pece, Gulu. She was kidnapped by the LRA in 1996 from Lacor St. Mary's School where she used to go to school. As a single mother, Beatrice struggles with raising her three children James 18 months, Derrick, 11 and Peace her 14 year old daughter who was fathered by a rebel soldier. She hopes to become a medical nurse and is already volunteering at Gulu hospital as an HIV counselor. She also formed a group of young people living with HIV to try and educate her community about the disease. Watch a sneak peak of Beatrice in Bookec.

When I first met Beatrice, I was blown away by her smile. Surely, I thought she couldn't have been through all the horrific things she later shared with me. But indeed she had. Little by little, Beatrice shared with me her story -- right from the time she was kidnapped, to when she escaped and came back to her family. She takes the word "strong" to a whole new level. Check out more of her story of resilience, hope, reunion and acceptance.

On the weekdays, Beatrice helps out at Gulu hospital where she counsels HIV positive people and encourages them to live a hopeful life. She understands all to well what it means to come close to death because she herself nearly died when she back from the bush (with the rebels) with a CD4 count of 1. Most medical specialists will tell you that with that count, one is pretty much left for death. But not Beatrice. She fought for the right to live. After a lot of medical care and sheer will to live, Beatrice finally gained the strength to help others. Now, she is literally saving the lives of other people in her hometown by giving them hope and life saving medication. Her story is unique, and powerful and I hope you will be as touched by it as I was.