Varsity students in drive to help needy peers
May 17, 2011
I am an orphan. My mother has been struggling to pay my tuition fees, but last semester she could not pay my tuition on time. I failed to clear for examinations until fellow students paid my tuition of sh645,000.â€
By Chris Ocowun
and Gilbert Kidimu
I am an orphan. My mother has been struggling to pay my tuition fees, but last semester she could not pay my tuition on time. I failed to clear for examinations until fellow students paid my tuition of sh645,000.â€
This is the story of Denis Opiyo, a third year student of Bachelor of Business at Gulu University. This problem is not unique to Opiyo. Vicky Akello, a public administration student, was last semester saved from dropping out after fellow students topped up her tuition fee by sh500,000.
The two are some of the beneficiaries of Brethren Trust Fund, an initiative by students to help the needy colleagues. The initiative followed a report by the office of the university academic registrar that 6% of the 3,500 students dropout annually.
Justus Tugume, the brain behind the initiative, said through Brethren Trust Fund, nine needy students who were about to apply for dead years due to difficulties in paying tuition fees were assisted to clear their fees.
“Some students drop out of the university due to lack of fees, but most of the students withdraw from their programmes and later come back,†the university academic registrar, Geoffrey Lamtoo, says.
The students who pay membership fees of sh3,000 and subscription of sh1,000 annually to Brethren Trust Fund, also lobby for donations and collections from the churches within the university to raise funds to support the needy students.
Tugume, who is also the outgoing guild speaker, says most needy students lost their parents during the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
He appeals to the Government to give loans to needy students to complete their university education so that they pay back when they get jobs.
The patron of Brethren Trust Fund, Rev. William Onyango Labeja, who lectures at the faculty of education and humanities encouraged the spirit of sacrifice among the students and members of the public.
“God has inspired us to form Brethren Trust Fund to give a helping hand to the needy. It is a blessing to give than to receive. Those who give are the ones who go home with baskets full of blessings from God,†he said.
Meanwhile, Uganda Christian University has also launched a similar programme dubbed Save-a-Buddy. Many students would fall short by a small amount of tuition only to loose an entire semester, sometimes a whole year.
“During the global financial crisis two years ago, many students were missing exams because of small fees balances,†says Perez Odeke, who founded Save-a-Buddy while in second year in 2009.
“A classmate would get a dead year because they had a remaining balance of say sh50,000. I could not sit just around and do nothing,†Odeke adds.
This semester, students raised sh1.4m which has saved nine students from dropping out. Students now have their hopes of a meaningful education restored. The project has so far helped over 40 students. The money collected is managed by the University Financial Aid office to provide scholarship support to needy students.
Save-a-Buddy started the 2011 Crane Campaign with a target of raising sh10m every semester which was expected to come to sh30m in 2011. Students carry out fundraising drives in hostels at the beginning of the semester and during community prayers with the simple philosophy that “If many people give a little, a little becomes a lot.â€
and Gilbert Kidimu
I am an orphan. My mother has been struggling to pay my tuition fees, but last semester she could not pay my tuition on time. I failed to clear for examinations until fellow students paid my tuition of sh645,000.â€
This is the story of Denis Opiyo, a third year student of Bachelor of Business at Gulu University. This problem is not unique to Opiyo. Vicky Akello, a public administration student, was last semester saved from dropping out after fellow students topped up her tuition fee by sh500,000.
The two are some of the beneficiaries of Brethren Trust Fund, an initiative by students to help the needy colleagues. The initiative followed a report by the office of the university academic registrar that 6% of the 3,500 students dropout annually.
Justus Tugume, the brain behind the initiative, said through Brethren Trust Fund, nine needy students who were about to apply for dead years due to difficulties in paying tuition fees were assisted to clear their fees.
“Some students drop out of the university due to lack of fees, but most of the students withdraw from their programmes and later come back,†the university academic registrar, Geoffrey Lamtoo, says.
The students who pay membership fees of sh3,000 and subscription of sh1,000 annually to Brethren Trust Fund, also lobby for donations and collections from the churches within the university to raise funds to support the needy students.
Tugume, who is also the outgoing guild speaker, says most needy students lost their parents during the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency.
He appeals to the Government to give loans to needy students to complete their university education so that they pay back when they get jobs.
The patron of Brethren Trust Fund, Rev. William Onyango Labeja, who lectures at the faculty of education and humanities encouraged the spirit of sacrifice among the students and members of the public.
“God has inspired us to form Brethren Trust Fund to give a helping hand to the needy. It is a blessing to give than to receive. Those who give are the ones who go home with baskets full of blessings from God,†he said.
Meanwhile, Uganda Christian University has also launched a similar programme dubbed Save-a-Buddy. Many students would fall short by a small amount of tuition only to loose an entire semester, sometimes a whole year.
“During the global financial crisis two years ago, many students were missing exams because of small fees balances,†says Perez Odeke, who founded Save-a-Buddy while in second year in 2009.
“A classmate would get a dead year because they had a remaining balance of say sh50,000. I could not sit just around and do nothing,†Odeke adds.
This semester, students raised sh1.4m which has saved nine students from dropping out. Students now have their hopes of a meaningful education restored. The project has so far helped over 40 students. The money collected is managed by the University Financial Aid office to provide scholarship support to needy students.
Save-a-Buddy started the 2011 Crane Campaign with a target of raising sh10m every semester which was expected to come to sh30m in 2011. Students carry out fundraising drives in hostels at the beginning of the semester and during community prayers with the simple philosophy that “If many people give a little, a little becomes a lot.â€