Wereje Benson Murihira
Benson Wereje is a Congolese refugee living primarily in the Kyangwali refugee camp in the Hoima district of Uganda. He was born in Bunagana village in northern Congo (Zaire) in 1981 and was the eldest of 2 boys and 4 girls. In 1995 his village was attacked by rebels who were slaughtering rival tribes and warring with the Congolese army. In the bloodshed and chaos, he was separated from his parents and siblings, enduring terrible carnage and hardship before reaching Uganda in 1997. He was taken to the Kyangwali refugee camp by the UN, working as a laborer to survive while managing to finish primary school (grades 1-7). He also finished 2 years of secondary school, working primarily in the fields to survive and eventually contracted malaria. At this time the UN withdrew its support of the Kyangwali schools and Benson stopped his schooling for 3 years, but managed to recover from malaria and learned to play soccer. He also built a hut, married and has a daughter and son. In 2003 he received a soccer scholarship for tuition at the Kitara secondary school in Hoima town. He continued to struggle to support himself but managed to finish the fourth year of "O" level at the top of his class. Benson's wife and children remained in Kyangwali while he was in Hoima. She supported the children through farm labor, but all have suffered from malaria. In 2005 soccer scholarships ended and Benson returned to Kyangwali after finishing the first term of year 2 of "A" level. In Kyangwali he organized Coburwas (Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan), a refugee club of orphans helping each other by laboring together in the fields. In late 2006 he received financial aid from Educate! which allowed him to take the final "A" level exams, but without having attended the second and third terms. He is now awaiting the results of the exams, hoping that he's done well enough to go on to college. (updated 01-07)
