Grace Akallo

Grace Akallo (born 1981) is a Ugandan woman who was abducted in 1996 to be used as a child soldier in the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel military group led by Joseph Kony. At the time of her abduction, Akallo was 15 years old and attending St. Mary's College, a Catholic boarding school in Aboke, Uganda. After escaping the army, Akallo returned to St. Mary's College to finish her high school education. as well as worked on several different advocacy projects, including contributing to the passage of amendments to the 2008 Child Soldiers Accountability Act. and delivering speeches about her experience as a former child soldier Several biographical texts and documentaries have been written and produced documenting the experiences of Akallo and her fellow child soldiers, most notably being the 2007 autobiography; Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda's Children, co-authored with Faith J. H. McDonnell, the 2015 biography Grace Akallo and the Pursuit of Justice for Child Soldiers written by Kem Knapp Sawyer, and the 2010 documentary Grace, Milly, Lucy... Child Soldiers produced by Raymonde Provencher.

Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Akallo was abducted into the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) on 9 October 1996, however, on this day, Akallo and 138 other young girls were abducted from their dorm room at St. Mary's College by a group of LRA rebel soldiers. During her time in the LRA, Akallo was trained to march and to clean, dismantle, and assemble The LRA soldiers thought she was dead and had the other child soldiers dig a grave for her body. and was invited to be a spokesperson for World Vision, as well as tell her story on CNN and The Oprah Winfrey Show. and Brandeis University in 2009. She also delivered a speech to the World Bank in Washington, DC in 2009 during a conference discussing violence prevention; and delivering testimonies.

Akallo has also been in touch with a non-profit organization in Uganda called Empowering Hands.

Most notably, in 2009, Akallo started a non-profit organization in America called United Africans for Women and Children's Rights (UAWCR) that aims to protect the rights of African women and children. In addition, she cofounded the Network of Young People Affected by War (NYPAW) through UNICEF in 2008, along with others who were affected by violence, including Ishmael Beah, Kon Kelei, Emmanuel Jal, Shena A. Gacu, and Zlata Filipović. The goal of NYPAW is to form connections between different countries where children have been affected by violence as child soldiers and reach out to find what aid those young people need and want to better help them.