From selling snacks to chasing a medical dream
Nalunkuuma, a Senior Five student at Kira Secondary School pursuing Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics (BCM), says balancing school with family responsibilities has been challenging.
(L-R) Ruth Nalunkuuma and Lady Justice Margaret Sekaggya. (Credit: Jovita Mirembe)
For 19-year-old Ruth Cynthia Nalunkuuma, staying in school has been a daily struggle.
Raised by a single mother who earned a living roasting cassava and maize by the roadside, Nalunkuuma has spent much of her life worrying about school fees and basic necessities.
The family’s situation worsened when her mother's business was affected by government trade enforcement measures, leaving her without a source of income. She is also battling illness and requires medical treatment.
Nalunkuuma, a Senior Five student at Kira Secondary School pursuing Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics (BCM), says balancing school with family responsibilities has been challenging.
“I find it difficult to concentrate on my studies because I have to look for money to support my mother's treatment, our daily needs and my school requirements,” she said.
Her fortunes changed when she was introduced to Project Princess Initiative, a charity organisation that has sponsored her education since Senior Two.
“They have supported my education up to now at Kira Secondary School,” she said. Nalunkuuma hopes to become a medical doctor.
She shared her story during a charity event held on June 21 and attended by former Inspector General of Government Beti Kamya and former Uganda Human Rights Commission chairperson and human rights activist Lady Justice Margaret Sekaggya.
Speaking at the event, Sekaggya noted that many girls are still forced into early marriage because of poverty and lack of educational opportunities.
Kamya also pledged to sponsor two vulnerable girls from Senior One to Senior Six at Kamya Memorial Secondary School in Rakai District - a school founded by her father, Samson Kalibbala Kamya. (Credit: Jovita Mirembe)
Moved by Nalunkuuma’s story, Sekaggya pledged, together with her family, to support the student's education from Senior Five up to university.
“We will pay her school fees and scholastic requirements and provide all the textbooks she needs during Senior Five and Senior Six to enable her qualify for medical school,” Sekaggya said.
Kamya also pledged to sponsor two vulnerable girls from Senior One to Senior Six at Kamya Memorial Secondary School in Rakai District - a school founded by her father, Samson Kalibbala Kamya.
Founded in 2009 by Fiona Mirembe Kiggundu, Project Princess Initiative supports vulnerable girls through bursaries, mentorship, provision of sanitary pads and vocational skills training aimed at keeping them in school.
According to Kiggundu, the initiative has partnered with 10 primary and secondary schools and has so far supported 2,715 girls.
The partner schools include Hope Hill Primary School in Masaka, Kira CoU Primary School, Kyaliwajjala UMEA Primary School, Winterland Junior School, St Francis Bulindo Primary School, Kira Secondary School, Najjeera High School, Majorine College School and St Henry’s College Namugongo.
More than sh10m was raised in cash and pledges during the event to support the initiative's efforts to educate more vulnerable girls.