Ayoo Jennifer Akello carefully opens her sequin purse to withdraw her national identification card to confirm her birthdate – January 1, 1984.  Born in Kitgum in northern Uganda, she was the youngest in her family.  She studied in school through senior 3 when she lost both of her parents in a span of just a couple of months - first her father, then her mother slipped away.

Already a young woman, Jennifer joined her older siblings who sold second hand clothes and shoes at local, trading markets.  She met and married her husband, who was a physician, and they had two children, one who died at birth.  In 2001, while returning back to the north from a business trip in Kampala, the vehicle her husband was traveling in was ambushed by rebels.  He died in the attack.  Shortly after, sickness engulfed Jennifer.  Infected with tuberculosis, her brother brought her to Kampala’s Mulago Hospital for treatment.

After regaining her health, Jennifer decided to stay in
Kampala alongside her brother, making the Acholi Quarter her home.  She started a small business selling charcoal and as it grew, she added dried fish, vegetables, groundnuts, beans and other food stuffs to her inventory.

She hopes one day to return to the north and build a small home for herself.