I am a 38-year-old woman, born in Kampala, Uganda. My father had six children with my stepmother, and nine children with my mother. My siblings and I are not close, nor were they close to my mother.
Our family situation was not favorable and we lacked everything. My father was a government army soldier with a modest income that barely covered our household expenses. From an early age, I understood that I had to work hard to survive.
I was in Form 4 in high school when our father disappeared and left us without income. We did not know why or where he had gone. Even the army was looking for him. We were left destitute.
One day, I decided to run away from home due to the tough conditions we were facing. I was separated from my family for seven years without them knowing my whereabouts. By the time I returned, I had missed most of my middle school years.
I was in Form 4 in high school when our father disappeared and left us without income. We did not know why or where he had gone. Even the army was looking for him. We were left destitute. With no one to pay for our school fees or our room and board, me and my big brother dropped out of school and started looking for jobs. The situation was pretty bad in our country, especially hard for the uneducated to get a job. My younger siblings also struggled to continue their education.
I tried many times to find a job so that I could support my siblings. I managed to get a job and earned enough to rent a house, so at least we had somewhere to sleep. Our situation worsened when my mother got sick and passed away. I had to find something to do so I could take care of my siblings. I got involved in bad friendships. That’s when I became a single mother, my son is now 12 years old.
Those bad friendships led me to do very wrong things like smoking marijuana, drinking, going to discos, and other bad activities. I unwittingly got involved with someone who led me into trouble.
My story is difficult to explain, but one thing it’s easy to conclude is to never trust people or “friends” because you might not know who is good or bad. Even now, I can’t believe that I am here because of a friend I trusted. So never trust and hang out with bad friends because if you do, you will end up locked up in prison like me.
My advice to you all is to stop using drugs and avoid bad friendships that use drugs because you’ll end up in prison with injuries, and many others will get trapped there. I’ve seen with my own eyes how many people die because of drugs. Many of them go crazy because of drugs! Others kill themselves, throwing themselves out the windows, and others end up in prison with life sentences. So, be careful about who you hang out with or who you choose to call friends.
Honestly, it’s very, very sad to be in prison without seeing our loved ones. Let me tell you it’s really hard not talking to your family or seeing them for a long time. If you are a mother, you know the feeling. You just feel like your life has ended. There is no freedom, no internet, no phones, no Facebook. You don’t have anybody to visit you, you can’t buy long-distance cards to call your family. So you end up depressed and going crazy.
So, be careful out there. Don’t come here. For me, being in prison has given me time to discern what kind of people to allow in my life. Every day I’m awake I realize I’m here because I was stupid. I believe one day or another I will leave this place. So by the grace of God, I will go home and see my family and child. With God everything is possible.
My warning to people out there who have never been detained or have never been in prison, please take care of yourselves always ask God to surround you with good friends, and be careful of making quick and easy money. Easy or quick money will make you end up in prison. Just ask God to show you a good direction to make good friends or decent money.
Note: This letter has been translated and edited to improve the readability and clarity of the story. Our team has tried to the best of our ability to avoid errors and has only omitted information not crucial to the story. You can read the original handwritten letters below.
