LRA rebels came to her village and ordered her to stay inside her hut. Then they set it afire. As she screamed, she heard the rebels laughing.
She got barely any medical treatment after passersby saved her. Since I saw her, she has had two operations that have somewhat eased the pressure and pain in her eyes.
Jennifer's journey here is a communitywide project of kindness. Readers touched by her story are busy raising money to defray costs for the minimum of three months she'll stay here for surgery.
Oliver St. Clair Franklin, honorary British consul and president of the International House in Philadelphia, worked with British Airways to get free flights from Uganda to Philadelphia for Jennifer and Abitimo Rebecca Odongkara, 72, her medical guardian.
Barbara Goodman of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers helped me figure out how Jennifer can get tutoring between surgeries. Several people are looking for a local hospital or doctors to be her routine health-care provider.
Terry D'Alessandro, chair of the board of directors of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and a top executive for Sovereign Bank in metro Philadelphia helped arrange the Jennifer Anyango Fund account (donations are not tax-deductible).
Between surgeries, Jennifer will stay in Philadelphia with Odongkara and her family. Odongkara, who commutes between Uganda and Philadelphia, is a remarkable woman who is now like a grandmother to Jennifer.
Odongkara and her family settled in Germantown in the 1970s, after fleeing the regime of then-dictator Idi Amin. Once Amin was gone, she returned and started a school. Her students not only are widely known for their academic achievement, they also get a daily helping of faith, good works, and devotion to peace.
