growing up in gulu, northern uganda

My friend Michael writes from Makerere University:

Natalia is my mum. I lost my father in 1987 when i was a very young boy. And we are only 2 from our parents, one girl {first born} and i {last born}. When my father died, my sister had already marriaged. I remained with my mother only in the remote village. Unlucky enough, she is very weak mentally and physically. She is suffering from cough from young age {before marrige} up to date. She is now in sixties. I can never forget the kind of sufferings we under gone, like sleeping at the open place [fire place to get heat] without anything to cover our body, sleeping on the empty stomach, absolutely no medical care, no access to education etc. Despite all those difficulties, she is supporting me strongly in education spiritually. The suffering is still continuing at the surbubs of Gulu town. We live in grass thatch [temporary structure], survive on one meal per day, and no fuel to light the poor room at night.