Scholarships
Exceptionally difficult situations with clear steps towards alleviation are considered for intervention by our team. Once a need is identified through our other programmatic activity, we provide assistance in the form of funds, services, or goods to help bring about freedom from an otherwise daunting situation.
Kevin
We met Kevin while she was in P5 at Bethel Junior School, a small private primary school in Zeu, Uganda. She was given free bursary by Bethel as she was a bright child but her parents could not afford the fees. Kevin stood out among her peers at Bethel because she was a good student with high marks, a hard worker, kind and helpful, showed leadership qualities at school, and was eager to learn new things.
Kevin wants to go to medical school, but her parents are unable to cover the costs of secondary school. After scoring exceptionally high on her P7 national examination for secondary school admission, she was accepted to St. Mary’s Ediofe Girl’s Secondary School in Arua. We presented Kevin and her family with an agreement that included a high standard for academic performance and certain criteria regarding extracurricular activities in exchange for tuition and school fees.
Kevin has now completed three of five years of secondary school and remains in the top tier of her class. She is still working towards medical school.
The Ozelle children
Akumu, Jakisa, Pierwoth, and Omirambe are double orphans from Uganda’s Ayaka parish. We met them just after their mother had suddenly and unexpectedly died. Their father was depressed and disabled, leaving 11 year-old Akumu to care for her three younger brothers. All four children were underfed, severely infected with jiggers, and living in a flea- and rat-infested dilapidated house. None of the children had been in school for quite some time.
We began treatment for their jigger infection immediately and made arrangements with the local school to receive them, supervise them, and feed them. A few weeks later, their father died with no extended family to assume responsibility for them, as would be the custom.
After deliberating with village elders and the school teachers, we transferred the children to a local private boarding school where they are schooled, fed, tutored, and looked after by a thoughtfully selected group of caretakers.
Since then, all four children have made significant progress towards recovery and restoration particularly in academics, socialization, and physical development. Just as with any family of four children, their daily needs are great. We have made a commitment to these children: to maintain a stable foundation, to nurture and love, to protect, to meet their physical needs, and to guide them towards reaching their full potential.
Terence
Terence was born and raised in Uganda’s West Nile Region and studied at Uganda Christian University. As a volunteer, he took an active role in our first independent testing for intestinal parasites in Zombo District in 2015. Terence was instrumental in developing a plan to target the high prevalence of intestinal parasites revealed by that baseline testing. His vision for a community-led approach aligned with ours and he has been our Uganda Country Coordinator since 2016.
Motivated to learn and contribute, Terence read and studied on his own but wanted to further his education. Armed with an undergraduate degree in Development Studies and the desire for more formal training, we granted his request to attend graduate school. In May 2020, Terence graduated from Uganda Martyrs University in Kampala with a Master of Public Health.