Meet Kennedy and Stella, whose love story has stood a test of refugee life

AGGREY NYONDWA

Being a refugee might be one of life’s biggest challenges. It comes with a lot of deprivations, trauma and limitations.

Thousands of refugees go hungry, others just fall sick and many are killed by the stress and circumstances.

Everyone cherishes the idea of being in their home country, work there, study there and have a happy family there. This is never the case for most refugees.

For many years, South Sudan has been raging with war and this has pushed over a million refugees into Uganda.

Despite Uganda’s friendly refugee policy, these still stay in settlements, with a small chunk of land, only a few household items, and still get food rations. Life is generally not a bed of roses.

The situation however, is quite different for this young, enthusiastic and visibly happy family of four in village 6, Imvepi refugee settlement, in northern Uganda.

Kennedy Metaloro 27, lives with his young wife Stella Onesta 24 and their two daughters; Patricia and Gloria, in their grass thatched house in the settlement. On seeing us approach, the two beamed with smiles and excitement as they welcomed us into their home with open hands.

Kennedy is a Red Cross volunteer who has been a refugee for one and a half years. He came in June 2017 when clashes reignited in South Sudan. Before, Kennedy worked at the airport in Juba where he raised money to support his family back in Yei.

When fresh attacks erupted in Yei, his hometown, Kennedy and the rest in Juba knew that their families were in danger but there is little they could as it wasn’t safe.

They also knew with time Juba would be under attack as well. With the continued massacres, Kennedy’s family fled to Uganda for safety, leaving him in South Sudan.

Before life became what it became, Kennedy’s parents worked so hard to raise money for him to study in Uganda given the quality of education here.

He was at Arua progressive school in 2008 when he met his would mother of children. A beautiful and brilliant young girl in her senior three, Stella was always the target of many eyes. Kennedy won her heart!

Both from South Sudan, both with a remarkable zeal and undying passion for education, nothing would have bound them more!

“Kennedy was a young energetic man, very brilliant! Since he was ahead of me, I was sure I would rely on him for protection and academic assistance. Life at school was so sweet and easy with him, and we were lucky to come from the same tribe and village back in South Sudan. There would be no turning back” said Stella as she reminisced with nostalgia about the olden days.

After high school, the two moved back to South Sudan and Kennedy started working at the airport.

Unfortunately, against her will, Stella couldn’t proceed to university as there was no money for university tuition, she just kept waiting and praying for the day she will go back to school.

The two eventually got married after Kennedy met her parents in 2015.

“The parents on both ends were happy for us. Her parents loved the fact that we were from the same tribe (Kakwa) and this made it easy for the cultures to blend. I was asked to take a few cows as dowry, but because of the war, this arrangement was sabotaged because I was still working to raise money for the cows” said Kennedy

The war in South Sudan intensified in 2016 and by this time, Kennedy and Stella already had one kid; Patricia.

Stella lived in Yei with her daughter and her mother in law. They had to run to Uganda and left him behind because he insisted he still needed to work and make as much money to look after them.

“We were forced to leave him behind. The situation was getting out of hand, we were all scared. They slaughtered our neighbors the night before we ran and this compelled us to take off. We run with nothing. On the road, we suffered a lot, there was no food or water, I had a young baby and then the old woman. Some people died on the road and others fell sick. We were so happy and relieved when we reached Uganda” Stella narrated the ordeal.

It took Stella and Kennedy seven months to see each other again. There was no connection all the time until through the Red Cross restoration of family links program, Stella got to know that Kennedy was nearby in Bidibidi settlement.

Kennedy had also fled after his family left, but had no idea in which settlement they were. Once he learnt they were in Imvepi, he wouldn’t stop visiting!

“They were really suffering when I found them. There was no food, no land and life was hard. They clearly missed a head of family. I had to bribe security to allow me sneak in to check on my family every day. This is why I requested Uganda Red Cross and other authorities to let me join my family here in Imvepi”

The family recalls the joy and jubilations when they were reunited

“When I saw him again, I felt life come back. We were worried that he hadn’t made it out alive. We really thank God for having kept him alive and brought him back to us” said Stella.

After reuniting with his family, Kennedy got an opportunity to become a Red Cross volunteer in his community where he helps in translations during psychosocial, health and hygiene promotion activities.

From his small facilitation, he has been able to look after his family. His wife Stella also volunteers at a nearby nursey school as a care taker.

The two have never given up hopes of going back to school and have applied for a few scholarship opportunities within the settlement.

Stella wants to study Public Health at the university and Kennedy wants ‘more papers’ to get him a better and bigger job here in Uganda.

Asked about going back to South Sudan, Stella had this to say; “I can’t, I can never go back to that place. I just want to go back to school!”