Adockorach Irene

A tenacious young woman

As she runs to greet, Irene’s smile captivates, invites and in some mysterious way, puts a soul at ease. Her eyes dance as she rapidly tells of all the news. Sometimes she forgets to take a breath when she reiterates stories of home life, her classes, and her love for dance and photography. But this bright face quickly falls downcast when she speaks of social injustices and the trials of disease. She is the first to report corruption and when she shares of her disappointment of failed promises and her fears for friends who do not share the same hope she does for their future, her dazzling eyes fill with tears.

This is a young woman with deep compassion. 

Irene faces the similar trials of her peers. Her father was killed because of the war and her mother is sick with AIDS. Yet, what sets her apart is her tenacity to care for those suffering around her. In her awareness of a hurting friend she helped prevent a suicide by boldly finding a way to intervene. In her constant care for her mother she sacrifices time, energy, and her pride to procure necessary resources. But most surprising is her resolve to excel as a student. When she was sent away from classes (as is customary in Uganda for unpaid school fees) by the administration, she found a way to sneak back in to take her final exams by jumping the wall of the fenced off school! What we know of boarding school students in the US and their desire to escape is the opposite for Irene. Instead of running away she sneaked herself back in (surprisingly unnoticed by her teachers). Irene leaves a haunting but dazzling impression.