U-TOUCH Uganda Education Project

U-TOUCH began sponsoring the education for 24 orphans in 2005 as a result of the 20-year Lord’s Resistance Army War, which devastated northern Uganda. Over the years, the successes of the students graduating from high schools, colleges, universities and those who have gained employment or become entrepreneurs are celebrated. They are all grateful to U-TOUCH donors for the opportunity for the transformation in their lives. The eight sponsored students remaining in school continue working hard and dreaming of their successful futures due to the support of U-TOUCH and its generous donors. Peace is a sponsored student whose life has dramatically changed as a result of U-TOUCH support and this report will highlight her in particular.

In 2003, at the age of six, Peace saw her parents murdered and dismembered by LRA War rebel soldiers. The rebels then set the family hut on fire and beat Peace’s 11-year old brother, Patrick, and took him captive. Left orphaned and alone, Peace and her 4-year old brother, Denis, were taken in by neighbors, until after 7 months, when Patrick escaped his captors and returned to the village to find and care for his brother and sister. Though the rebels had burned their hut to the ground, with terrific resilience and motivation Patrick then head of the household worked small construction jobs to earn a small amount of money for the family to survive.  

Peace learned to care for a household from the kind neighbors who sheltered her and at a very early age she began cooking for her brothers over firewood that she collected, cleaned their new hut, laundered clothes, and walked for water for their young family. Eventually, without much money, Peace attended one of the overcrowded government schools.  In 2009, U-TOUCH volunteers found Patrick and learned about the tragic loss of his parents. He shared about his responsibility in caring for his young brother and sister by taking small jobs while reaching for a better future with a good education.  U-TOUCH began supporting Patrick’s school fees and once learning of his brother and sister’s poor quality education U-TOUCH began sponsoring the tuition for Peace and Denis in 2010 at the highly regarded Vienna Primary School. Upon completion of P-7 Peace was accepted into Northern City Secondary School where she is currently a student leader, well-liked by her peers as well as teachers. She is an excellent student, a poet, an artist and a strong athlete. “My favorite subjects are English and Art. Your great work has made me to nurse my dreams of becoming an artist. In the past, life was not easy until U-TOUCH came to my life and started supporting me in school. I want to appreciate you for your support by sponsoring my education.”

Peace has many friends at school and in her village in which she lives. However, Peace suffered greatly from the loss of her mother and developed ulcers. U-TOUCH provides funding for her medicine and special diet in addition to her school requirements. U-TOUCH also gave Peace a mattress on which to sleep rather than the dirt ground, and a mosquito net which has helped curb her many bouts with malaria. Though she experienced a horrific tragedy in her early life, Peace has demonstrated her strength by maturing into a kind thoughtful caring young lady. She is very much a part of an extended community of young women in her village who care for the young children as family, giving back the support she has felt from neighbors and U-TOUCH. Peace has a deep heart. In fact, she traveled to a distant village with U-TOUCH to present Geoffrey, also an orphan, a new wheelchair. Peace painfully recognized that Geoffrey could not otherwise attend school due to his immobile broken antiquated wheelchair. Peace was deeply touched by the opportunity to meet and support Geoffrey. She assisted by translating his Luo for the U-TOUCH team. She felt a kinship, as though Geoffrey was a brother and honored to be part of the team presenting him, not only the wheelchair to empower his independent mobility, but also a mattress, clothing, mosquito net, notebooks, pencils and a few toys. She clearly felt a heart connection with Geoffrey and his joy at receiving his new wheelchair to enable him to attend classes instead of sitting outside school in his immobile wheelchair.

It is difficult to imagine the deep pain Peace and her brothers and countless other children have suffered, given the atrocity they experienced. It is also difficult to imagine the extreme poverty in which all the sponsored students have lived without the basics of running water, electricity or proper food and nutrition and countless children out of school due to the lack of tuition fees. Peace has a deep appreciation for her education and all the support U-TOUCH provides. However, Peace is very responsible. When school is on break, she earns money by working to help pay for some of her additional needs. She takes nothing for granted and is well aware she will work hard in life to become a self-sufficient strong young woman. Also when on break Peace visits the U-TOUCH Technology Innovation Hub where she has learned computer skills and is now facile with Facebook and video conferencing. She looks forward to the regular opportunities to communicate with middle school and high school students and teachers across the world. U-TOUCH is very proud of Peace and delighted she is benefiting greatly from all the donor’s generous hearts! Her tenacity and warmth are deeply appreciated by U-TOUCH and sometimes even expressed through her poetry. Peace certainly brings smiles across miles.

It is with deep admiration for Peace to have pulled herself up to survive and thrive with U-TOUCH support. U-TOUCH volunteers are grateful to have shared special time in Gulu with Peace and all the sponsored students to hear their incredible stories, visit their schools and homes, learn about the deep importance of their precious education and watch them mature over the years. U-TOUCH the lives of the sponsored students, their families and communities. It is, therefore, with deep gratitude to our U-TOUCH donors who have provided educational opportunities that will change the course of life for Peace and all the U-TOUCH sponsored students!