Grace Akallo was a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Uganda when rebel soldiers dragged her from her dormitory and forced her to become a soldier. In her book, Girl Soldier, Akallo recounts the abuse, forced marches, beating and starvation she endured until she escaped seven months later.

Akallo will speak at the annual Providence Write-a-thon for Human Rights, on Sunday afternoon in the Parish House behind the First Unitarian Church, at Benefit and Benevolent streets in Providence.

In a phone interview from her home in Massachusetts, Akallo said she wants to draw attention to the issue of child soldiers.

“It’s not just Uganda — it’s happening in different countries and different situations,” Akallo said. “There are about 28 countries [that] are using children as soldiers — either governmental or rebel groups. I urge people to work against the use of children in armed conflict or before the age of 18, because it is destroying our future. It’s is going to come back to haunt us.”

A second scheduled speaker, Mohamed el-Jahmi, is campaigning for the life of his brother, a prisoner of conscience in Libya who is being held for his unwavering stand for democracy and human rights.

The Write-a-thon for Human Rights, now a global event, is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. At the event, ordinary citizens come together to write letters to heads of state on behalf of prisoners of conscience around the world. Many former prisoners of conscience have been released because of these mass appeals.

This year’s local Write-a-thon, sponsored by Amnesty International’s Providence chapter, will be the 21st annual one. It will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. The event is suitable for families, and the public is welcome. Sample letters, prisoner case dossiers, paper, envelopes and postage will be provided. The event is cosponsored by the World Affairs Committee of the First Unitarian Church of Providence.