Speaker Olive Aneno

Topics: Campus Ministry, Child Advocacy, Compassion Alumni, HIV Prevention, Poverty, Women's Ministry, World Health Issues

Olive Aneno

Olive Aneno is a passionate advocate of healthcare as a human right. As a Clinical Social Worker and Public Health Advocate in the state of Georgia, Olive is a Subject Matter Expert facilitating suicide prevention initiatives promoting awareness programs among health and behavioral health systems as well as other public agencies throughout the state.

Olive was born and raised in Northern Uganda, in a region terrorized by the Lord’s Resistance Army. When she was 6 years old, she was forced to hide alone in the forest overnight as the LRA seized her village. Spared from death, abduction or worse, Olive soon moved to the capital city of Kampala to live with her single mother, who registered her for Compassion’s child development program. For the first time, she was able to attend school, wear properly fitting clothing and shoes, eat nutritious meals and receive healthcare. When her mom passed away three years later, though an orphan, Olive had valuable family and support through her Compassion sponsorship.

South Carolina State University awarded Olive a volleyball scholarship, and she graduated summa cum laude with her bachelor’s degree in social work. She went on to earn her master’s in social work from the University of Georgia, and recently received her second master's degree in public health, graduating in May 2016. Olive is highly respected and sought after in her field, having received multiple awards, scholarships and merits for her work.

Energetic, engaging and compelling, Olive is a gifted speaker, often called on to speak about advocacy, grace, forgiveness, Mental Health Specializing in Suicide Prevention, poverty and the plight of vulnerable children around the world. She and her son, Felix, live in Atlanta, Georgia.