Hope has lived all of her life in Acholi Quarters with her mum, her two biological brothers, and variable foster siblings as her mum has taken in different children over the years when their family circumstances broke down.
Her home has always been some variation on a 3m square room, although more recently it was a couple of rooms as there wasn’t enough space for everyone to sleep in the one room. Her bed has always been a mattress or blanket on the floor, and sanitation has always been a long-drop pit latrine.
Due to the civil war, her mum never went to school, and Hope has never known her dad, so doesn’t know if he was literate or not. So the chances are that, when Hope completed her senior 4 exams at secondary school last November, she was the first one ever in her family to get a secondary education. That’s quite an achievement, and a big milestone in her family. And it was enabled in part due to the sponsorship of her education by CRED donors (which will continue, to cover nursing tuition fees).
But now Hope has her sights set on the next stage of her education. Ever since she was in Primary 5 (age about 11), she’s harboured a dream of becoming a nurse. She admits that she’s more of a practical person than an academic, and nursing for her is about fulfilling a wish to help others, make them better, and gain skills that can be of use in her family, in her community and across the country.
So, it was great to sit with Hope today and hear her talk about the Certificate in Nursing course that she has registered for, and will start in July. When I asked her what she is looking forward to about the course she said that she is excited to be learning about health and gaining medical skills so that she can help people in her community to get better. She’s also excited about moving to a new environment and becoming a boarder at the college, as she’s never really been anywhere except Achol Quarters.
She says it will be weird to leave her mum and her brothers at home, and not know each day what they are doing, but she knows she’s doing the right thing and that it is best to board so that she can have more time for studying and learning. She also mentioned how weird it will be to have a bed all to herself, and to not have to cook the meals for everyone (more insights into Hope’s current lifestyle!)
As Hope gathers together the requirements for being a boarder (mattress, blanket, bucket, broom, cleaning cloths, soap etc), and prepares for this big new chapter in her life journey, I pray that this will be a time when she really flourishes, and finds her own identity outside of the community of people who have shaped her life until now. They are wonderful people, and have definitely helped give Hope a great start, but now is the time for her to find herself, and to carve out her own journey in new and exciting ways. I wish her all the very best, and look forward to hearing updates on how she is getting on.
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