Atyam founded the Concerned Parents Association to advocate for the release of the captive children, and acted as the organization's spokesperson, travelling to Europe and the United States.
A trained midwife, she settled in Lira after marrying George Atyam, and gave birth to three sons and three daughters.
[citation needed] On 10 October 1996, she learnt that her daughter Charlotte, then 14, was one of 139 girls who had been kidnapped from St Mary's Catholic boarding school in Aboke by guerrillas from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
Charlotte was among the 30 girls who were not freed;[citation needed] they were marched into southern Sudan, and would be held captive by the LRA for years to come.
Her efforts to encourage the Ugandan government to negotiate with the LRA for the children's release were rebuffed, because officials refused to enter into discussions with terrorists.
The resulting pressure caused LRA leader Joseph Kony to offer to release Charlotte on the condition that Atyam agree to stop campaigning.
[2] These efforts led to adoption by the US Congress of a resolution condemning the abduction of Ugandan children, and calling upon Sudan to secure the release of those still in captivity.