HQ MESSAGES

Imagine being a child and knowing your family’s best hope for a better life rests on your small shoulders. Imagine seeing your family sacrifice everything just so you can get a good education — and having no more to give when that dream is left unfulfilled.   Edwinah didn’t have to imagine this — she lived it.

Over ten years ago, through eyes still yellowed from the lingering effects of malaria, Edwinah saw her family sell nearly everything they owned to pay for her secondary school education.  But it still wasn’t enough.  Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, Edwinah’s plight came to Africare’s attention.  Thanks to the educational support we provided, she graduated from Rwentobo High School and went on to complete her advanced level education at Maryhill High School in Mbarara District, Uganda.

This year, Edwinah was moved to contact Africare to tell us how that help changed her life.  From high school, she went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree in environmental health from Makerere University. A Master’s degree in public health from the University of Nottingham followed — both degrees paid for through additional scholarships and grants she earned along the way.

Today, Edwinah works as a Research Associate at Makerere University.  She gives others in her village the kind of help Africare gave her when it mattered most.  She’s helping her siblings with their education — and doing the same for orphans and young girls in her district.  She is mobilizing supporters to help provide scholarships for young people in need.

Her family is doing “much better than before,” she reports.  Edwinah is happy, fulfilled and thankful for the support she received from Africare.  She says she “will remember every bit forever.”