Bellagio Residency: October 2023
Project: “Memoir”
Victor Ochen is a Nobel Peace Prize nominated activist and member of the Global Advisory Group to the UN Refugee Agency on Gender, Forced Displacement and Protection. He grew up amidst the violent conflict in Uganda where 60,000+ children were abducted and forcefully recruited as child-soldiers, including his brother who is still missing. Victor visited Bellagio in October 2023 to write a memoir, which he hopes will bring hope to millions of children around the world who identify with his life story. He is currently the Founder and Executive Director of the African Youth Initiative Network, which provides reconstructive medical repair to LRA war victims of rape, mutilation, and gun shots.