Star Spotlight
Not a "Real Job": Brendah Okello and the Women Rewriting Kole's Story
She survived war, kept a promise, and came home to build what her community needed.
Brendah Okello · Meraki Action Initiative
Her Story
Brendah grew up in Kole, in northern Uganda — a district still healing from the LRA war. Few young people finished school, and those who did usually left, returning only for short visits or funerals. Even as a child, she felt the social divides.
Some parents didn't want their children playing with us because they thought we weren't of the same social class.
The Challenges
Working in South Sudan, Brendah was forced into hiding when violence erupted. In that moment she made a promise to God: if she survived, she would return home and become a vessel for change. People still ask her why she doesn't find a "real job."
I hid in the bush, terrified, unsure if I would live.
Brendah, why don't you find a real job?
The Wins
Today Brendah is Founder & Executive Director of Meraki Action Initiative, with more than 14 years of experience in SRHR, community healing and education, and a champion for gender equality and youth empowerment. Her Education Walk restores learning spaces and motivation for children in Kole. When she shared it with a professor whose first association with Kole was stigma, his tone changed.
If this is what you want to build, I want to stand with you.
What Inspires Her
She believes success should never separate people from where they came from — and that if a community doesn't rewrite its own story, the world will keep repeating the old one.
True education should uplift entire communities. It should expand our capacity to serve.
Her Purpose
Community healing, gender equality, youth empowerment and transformational education.
I choose to stay. I choose to serve. I choose to build.
“One child, one step, one vision at a time—we will rebuild the community that raised us.”
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Published by GoBreezy Spotlight