NEEDY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP TRUST (NEST) Every story Needs a listener, when listened to live can change!” My Book, The Luo Secrets…… Akuri ma kare boo camo manyo ngeye! (A bird or dove who’s NEST are far eats while looking behind; or it eats while remembering the chicks she left behind) Acholi proverb. In about 2002 friends from Japan through Naoko Sakuragi a.k.a Aber started building NEST- Needy Education Trust. An initiative to transform the lives of needy children whose hopes were killed by Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Gulu. There are very many brilliant children who were not going to school or had no dreams of going to school. Gulu was involved in 2 decades war that destroyed lives and property, increased poverty levels and denied the poor education. Education became a luxury of the rich not a right of a child. In 2002, as I was doing my training in Journalism as a freelance, I came across Rubangakene Richard. A little brilliant boy sweating after walking for over 10 KM yet he was taking rest while browsing through his books. He was a candidate. I asked him and he told me he was a displaced pupil. Displaced schools were schools of children who took refuge in towns. Most of them are those from IDP camps. Over 1.8 Million people were displaced from Acholi during the war. I asked the teacher of Rubangakene and he told me his story, which story has become history with NEST! I had a friend we met in 2001, a Japanese whom I declared an Acholi from Japan, a friend we have been in friendship for over 15 years now! She is passionate about children. I told her the story of Rubangakene and we started supporting the boy. Aber mobilized friends in Japan under NEST and we paid him to school. On Saturday 17th 1-2015, I met the parents of Rubangakene on his invitation, they were wedding in the village styles in Catholic Church, an old man’s wedding. The parents thanked NEST and in a village of more than 5000 people, Rubangakene since the formation of the village, and after the war in October 2015 will be graduating from Busitema University as Water Resource Engineer; a pride to his village! All were smiles…. Through several visits of Aber, and networks we mobilized funds from Japan and started supporting several needy children. One night, a faceless man poured cold water on children sleeping by his veranda, we were chilling along the main streets of Gulu. It was almost midnight in a raining season; children screamed and ran like problem. Child is innocent. He was chasing them away from his compound. He said they litter his compound. These children were taking refuse from Lord’s Resistance Army soldiers. They would be abducted. By then many children were being abducted. Children would sleep by the road sides. I told my friend Aber of the story, and when she came around she saw thousands of children sleeping by the road side in cold. We decided to start buying blanket and mats for them as we give at random on the streets. We had mobilized some money from friends headed by Chizu Yoshida called Arhina Na Opepu. If I were like other unscrupulous youth I would be rich, but decided to go to the District and they gave us land where through this support we built a center we named Teokono night commuter center, records shows that over 10,000 children slept there. They would come sleep and disappear to the centers that came after our idea. The Japanese gained trust in me and friends I lead in Gulu. We decided to register an NGO called United Youth Action for Progress (UYAP); I carried UYAP in my brief case and pocket for over 4 years. We finally registered it in to oversee the programs. UYAP helped to make activities easily run. In Teokono night commuter center, there were many students who were brilliant but needy. I advised Rubangakene to stop walking to study from far and he could some time sleep at friends home or relatives in town and after he finished his P7 exams I asked him to join the center. NEST continued paying Rubangakene and now he is completing his Engineering studies at University. In October he graduates and intends to join NEST friends in supporting other needy children. Rubangakene is a true success story of NEST. NEST looks at supporting both male a female needy. In the quest to promote girl child education, in Africa, girls lagged behind as their male counter parts were favored to study and little girls pushed to marry. Akumu Nancy Akera was in a similar situation, brilliant but Needy. An orphan whose hopes were to become a doctor. She would crash stones in Laroo with a flailed grandmother for school fees. We went with Naoko Sakuragi to her school in about 2004. We picked her up and started supporting her. We took her to Kampala after she did well in O-levels. She joined Trinity College and performed well. Instead of medicine she went to become a doctor of forest. She graduated with flying colors and was retained in Makerere University as a lecturer. Friends like Children Up came up and supported Nancy at the University till she completed her education. They provided every support after I wrote to them about Nancy. Right now Nancy supports over 3 needy children in Gulu. This is no mean achievement. Nancy is no longer a Needy. Ajok Patricia is another success story of NEST. Ajok got herself staying home for two years. An orphan whose performed exceptionally well in Ordinary levels. In Uganda there are four stages of Education before one gets to the University, Pre primary, primary, ordinary levels, Advanced levels then University or intuition. NEST paid Ajok to school in Kampala (Nalya S.S) where she performed well in Advanced levels. She graduated from Gulu University with Upper second class Hons. She was among the top four in her class. Ajok is a Agriculturalist with a degree in Agriculture. She does extension services on private arrangements with local farmers. She intends to open up an Agricultural shop, extension/Advisory services to the local community for mass production since 80% of our population are dependent on land. With her little savings Ajok is supporting some needy children (2) already in school. Atimango Christine was a needy girl that performed so well in Primary. When I went to Pece Police Primary school 7 years ago, I told girls to read hard and said whoever gets bellow 10 aggregate, I will look for scholarship. Atimango heard this very well. A needy girl who commutes for over 4 km away to her school got aggregate 7 first grades. I wrote her story to NEST friends. Today, she is in are Advanced levels in Kampala. Her dreams are to become a Nurse. These are the few success stories picked from the many. NESTS is expanded, outside NEST original children, there are children not under NEST but I wrote their stories and are directly support by friends and other Networks. Nyeko graduated from Makerere University with first class in Psychology, he is now supporting over 5 needy children. Kirsten Durward a friend supported Susan up to Advanced levels and now she is an Accountant. Kirsten also used to directly support a needy girl Jackie and now she has sat her Ordinary levels. She now calls her daughter, a girl she supported from Nursery to O levels. A friend Julianah Burhing also supported Moses now he is in his final year in Gulu High school for O levels. These are needy but brilliant children whose stories were read. In my Book the Luo secrets; test of resilience I quoted “Every story needs a listener, when listened to life can change! After their stories were listened too, friends of my friends, Naoko Sakuragi and her friends in Japan came in to support NEST; my other friends came directly and also picked up children whom they are directly responsible to sponsor. Atimango is our last NEST student but several others come to me and I am overwhelmed yet I cannot help all. Friends lets support NEST. NEST friends let the program ends not on Atimango. I am now more committed in making NEST stronger and it’s now what I will put my 100% efforts to make it work. NEST success has strengthened my believe that Education can make the world better. When a needy child is educated, we will reduce terrorism and war. In Africa it is not only bad but bad manners not to say a thank you. Thank You Naoko Sakuragi , Eri Yamazaki and all the NEST friends in Japan; thank you Children Up for helping Nancy Finish her education, thank you Kirsten and Julianah for picking up your children here and directly supporting them. I want to thank the government of Uganda for bringing peace and ending war that bedeviled the children in Northern Uganda. I want to thank Ardhi Na Opepu Japan for supporting the Construction of the Night commuter’s center and Teokono Vocational School. Teokono Vocational. I have over 10 children both from Lango and Acholi who did well exceptionally in the resent results of P7; I have a girl who got aggregate 4 from Lira. The future seems bleak! I have many others but we need more supporters to support NEST. NEST Member
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:35:24 +0000
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