Julius (left) speaking to Mark in November 2019. Julius Emukule, 17 is a tall, handsome, confident and brave ‘young man’. He is athletic and therefore a fast walker. The distance from his home village of Morekebu in Kwapa sub country to Tororo Hospital is about 8 miles. This is the distance that he has walked many times back and forth during three harsh episodes of his young life. He recounts the episodes thoughtfully with 'stature' of an old man. In one of the tribes in Uganda, there is a common proverb that can be paraphrased as ‘ stories of tribulations are not only told by elders but even by children who have lived through trouble’ . Of course, the norm is that it is the old who tell stories. All sorts of stories. In fact, for this particular tribe, many homesteads still have fireplaces where young children gather every evening to listen to the escapades of their grandparents. The life story of Julius is an adventurous one. He tells it brashly and with th...
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