Betty Pacutho Udongo

Ten Days Betty Pacutho Udongo

Betty Pacutho Udongo was an elected member of the Ugandan Parliament when she founded the Nebbi Standard Academy, a secondary school in Northern Uganda. The school was founded to serve the needs of students in the region, but quickly became much more when orphans from a nearby refugee camp started to arrive after receiving word that they would not be turned away. "Ten Days: An American Visits a Secondary School in Northern Uganda" chronicles the real-life journey of Robert James Ruhf, an American academic, who visited the school in 2010. In doing so, it also unfolds descriptions of Betty's experiences growing up in an environment of war, how she came to found the school, and of the hardships that were being faced by students and families in Northern Uganda at the time of Robert's visit. More than anything else, this is a story about hope in the midst of sorrow, particularly the hope that comes from bringing educational opportunities to children who have been forgotten by the world.