Cody’s StoryBy Amanda Kee

Over one million children in Sudan don’t go to school. Because of this 76% of adults do not know how to read or write.

“I CAN’T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TODAY!” Cody screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Cody, you don’t want to be late for your first day of school do you?” his mum questioned. Cody rushed downstairs, filled his makeshift pillow case bag with some bread and a gourd of water, then zoomed out the door and ran to school in his threadbare rubber sandals.

Cody’s family wasn’t very rich compared to the rest of the people in Sudan, but they had just enough money to put him in school for this year. He was really excited for his first day of school, although he had to wake up really early to be able to get there in time. The school was a new building that had been donated and built by an NGO (non-governmental organisation) in the area. It was very far away and Cody had to walk to get to school. Other children who did not go to school also had to wake up early as they had to do chores for their family, such as collecting water or rocks from the river, which was also very far away.

At school, Cody met a new friend, who was also having her first day at the school. She was an Australian girl called Hope and she was tall, pretty and smart. Her parents worked for an NGO which was providing assistance in Sudan. They were both new to the school so stuck with each other all day. They communicated using actions and a little bit of English, as Cody had picked some English words up from foreign aid workers.

At lunch, they sat together in the breezy fresh air to enjoy the sunlight. After lunch, they went back to their boring, 80 minute French class. Their next class was math, which happened to be their favourite subject. Fifteen minutes into the lesson they heard three gunshots.

“Don’t panic everyone!! I’m sure that sound was nothing,” the teacher explained.BANG, BANG, BANG. Another three gunshots went off.

“EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!” one of their classmates yelled. Cody and Hope stayed together. He told her to stay calm and not to worry. Hope had never been in this type of situation back in Australia, and she was not prepared.

“This shooting might go on for a while,” Cody yelled.

After about an hour, Cody and Hope made it out of the school building and ran into the dark, thick, warm forest. In the forest, there were a lot of other kids from other nearby areas. Most of them were sprinting as fast as cheetahs. It was like they were being chased by a monster.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be running too?” Hope asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. Just keep calm and follow me,” Cody replied. Cody knew the forest well as he had collected firewood from here before. They quickly hiked up the forest until they found a small group of adults.

“Stay with these other kids. I’m going to have a little chat with the adults over there,” Cody explained. Cody was very well known to most of the adults around his area in Sudan because it was a small community, and most people knew each other. The adults in the forest treated him nicely. After speaking with the adults, Cody ran back to find Hope.

“HOPE!?!”

“I’M RIGHT HERE!!”

“Ohh...ok. Well we have decided to head to the other side of the forest away from the shooting and hopefully where there are no gun shots.”

“Where is the other side exactly…?”

“It’s quite far away from here, that’s all I can say. Let’s get some rest now as it is too dark to see where we are going. We’ll start walking when it is light.”

Dawn arose and Cody had not slept well as it was uncomfortable, he was anxious about the shooting and his family.

“Wake up everyone. We need to start walking to the other side of the forest. The slower we walk the longer it will take to get there” Everybody got ready in just a few minutes, and then left without making any fuss.

After walking for a few hours, they reached a point when they started to notice that more and more people were joining their group. People were of all ages probably from seven to forty years old. Cody was beginning to wonder whether his family was still alive, his mum, his dad, his little sister Chloe, his older sister Lucy his younger brother John and his older brother Noah.

As Cody looked back towards Hope he noticed that she was limping.

“Are you OK Hope? Did you hurt your ankle?” questioned Cody.

“I don’t know. It’s really bothering me,” answered Hope.

“Your ankle is getting more swollen by the second.”

“Actually I think I’m fine. No biggy.”

I think Hope is hiding something, I’m not sure though thought Cody silently to himself.

Suddenly, the gigantic group of people stopped for some reason.

“What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?” asked a man who was carrying a child on his back.

The leader had collapsed on the ground. “Everyone take a few sips of water, I think our leader has died of thirst. Whatever food or water we have we need to distribute evenly! YOU HEAR ME!! We don’t want more people collapsing like that,” the co-leader commanded with authority. Everyone took a sip of water. If they didn’t have any the next closest person with water offered them some.

After several hours, just as the sun was starting to set, they came across some berry trees but there was barely enough for everybody. Cody and Hope were really hungry but they had to ignore it. Hope went through the bush ahead of Cody.

“HOPE, WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I’M RIGHT NEXT TO YOU” Hope shouted.

“I met these nice kids while you were walking ahead. This is Felix and this is Mackenzie they are siblings from the USA. Their parents also work for the same NGO as my parents. Their parents bought them a mobile phone for school and to use for emergencies, so they have a phone and suggested that I contact my parents to let them know I’m OK.” explained Hope.

“I met these nice kids while you were walking ahead. This is Felix and this is Mackenzie they are siblings from the USA. Their parents also work for the same NGO as my parents. Their parents bought them a mobile phone for school and to use for emergencies, so they have a phone and suggested that I text my parents to let them know I’m OK.” explained Hope. Cody was unsure what she meant by using a mobile phone but thought that anyway to contact Hope’s family would be a good idea.

Hope entered her father’s mobile number and typed out a text message. The text message read….

Hope: DAD, SUDAN IS IN WAR. THERE WAS A SHOOTING AT SCHOOL. I AM IN THE FOREST

Dad: I KNOW. WE ARE IN THE FOREST WITH CO-LEADER ALEX

Hope: OMG ME TOO!

Dad: WE NEED TO FIND YOU - HOW CAN WE FIND U?

Hope: I AM NEAR THE BACK, WITH ALL THE OTHER SCHOOL KIDS.

Dad: LOVE YOU. COMING TO LOOK FOR YOU. STAY SAFE

Unbelievably Hope’s dad found them.

“DADDY!!”

“HOPE! Your mum thought you didn’t survive but I never lost hope.”

“Where is mum anyway?”

“She is back safe in the NGO compound”

“Why didn’t you stay with her?”

“I just told you!! I was sure you were still alive and needed to find you , it was too dangerous for her to come”

Hope’s father, Hope and the two children from USA escaped that night and fled back to the NGO compound. It was too dangerous for Cody to come as Sudanese rebels were capturing boys to make them fight.

One Month Later

“I don’t think I can last another minute without water… My throat is as dry as a crack in the ground!!” Cody moaned to the other children.

“Neither can I..!” they all agreed.

The massive group of people started walking towards a refugee camp they had heard about where they would be safe. However, there was one problem. The refugee camp could only fit so many of the group, an amount of the massive group of people had to be left behind. When they made it to the refugee camp most of the adults and teens got left behind but they made sure all the kids stayed safe at the refugee camp. They also made sure they stayed in the same tent with people that they knew well, therefore everyone felt comfortable. He wondered how long it would be until he saw his parents again or if he ever would.

5 Years Later

“CODY CODY COME HERE” a lady yelled with excitement

“WHAT” Cody answered

“They found your parents!!!”

“OHH MY GOD” Cody was so excited. Cody was now seventeen and a few months, he hadn’t seen his family for five years he missed them more then anything!

“WHERE ARE THEY?” he yelled with enthusiasm.

“That’s what I was just going to tell you! They are back at your house safe and sound you can join them as soon as the bus arrives tomorrow afternoon at twelve o’clock. By the way they all survived except for your younger brother John” She said. Cody was so excited he didn’t hear the part about John

“Did any of them not make it?” Cody asked

“I just explained that. John didn’t make it?” the lady confirmed impatiently.

“ohh” sighed Cody

“ On the bright side your parents are alive.”

“I guess so.” sighed Cody. It hit him that he would never see his brother again.

The Next Day

Cody was up and ready by sunrise, he was so excited to leave the refugee camp that had been his home for the past five years. Cody was so excited he forgot all about the family that he had created with the other members of the camp. Later that day everyone got on the bus and took the long journey home.

After a long time, Cody could see his village in the distance. He stepped off the bus, into his house and back into a forgotten world.