Once a time, there was a kid. His name, Amani, who loved to perform. He was light hearted and funny, and a clown. He had a mother, a brother, and a dad. 

He lived in a village named Tohol in Sudan. It was prosperous and rich, filled with water and crops. The days were warm, and the sky, blue as the flowers around them.

The village had a center, sprawling with vendors. The air was filled with the smell of spices and meat. Then there was a wooden stage, where Amani loved to hang out. He loved to perform, to sing and to dance, and to make everybody laugh.

But one day when performing, with the roar of the crowd, something happened and that chilled the crowd. While making the crowd laugh, Amani felt a pulse of air dashing at him almost making him fall.  The crowd silenced. Then…

The Crowd was rattled, Amani with a feeling of uncertainty lodged in himself. Like somebody had entered his heart and dropped it in there.

He started to panic, fear deep in his head. He started to run home, but then he felt a figure tackle him to the ground.

“Don’t run home brother! Come, hide in the woods with me!” There was chaos and rampage everywhere! There were people screaming and shots flying everywhere. There were BOOM!’s and bodies everywhere.

Once they got to the forest, it felt like a haven. Amani said, " We have to go back for mama and papa." His brother replied,

”We can’t go back to mom and dad. They’ll capture us and put us in the army. We have to stay away from the battles and head to Kenya, we’ll be safe there.”

Amani realized what happened, the war had got to them. The Sudan Civil War was a conflict between the north and the south. The north wanted everybody to adopt Islam as their religion but the south wanted to keep theirs. The conflict had escalated to a war.

They started the journey it was long and challenging, staying away from the animals and running from the war. Every once in a while they would find food, but it was hard to come by. Yet they still kept fighting. 

One week passed, then One month. Then 6 months, then a year. Then 2 years had passed. Fighting for survival. They had to dodge soldiers and looters, and lions and crocodiles.

Close to the end of the journey something tragic had happened. While on the border, his brother could no more. Amani, worried and afraid said,

” Brother we have come this far, and you’re just going to give up?” His brother replied, gasping,

 “I… Can..’t No…. More… You… Will.. have… to.. finish.. it … alone….” then with the final gasp, his brother stopped breathing.

Amani broke down, tears dripping down his body. He felt empty at first, then stronger after, like a hidden fire had just come out of nowhere. He had a newfound energy to finish the journey. 

He powered through the sadness and got to the Kakuma Refugee Camp.

The camp had dirt roads and tents, like a village or camping site. There was a problem with food and water but at least it was better than having none. It had a school for boys.

Amani was 11 when he arrived. A lot of time passed, 9 years . During this time they gained a lot of people. Rumor was Ethiopia closed a lot of camps because of political corruption.

Amani was now 20. He had been getting an education at the camp and exploring the camp.