Namusoke is a bright 8-year-old girl living in Masaka, Uganda. At the tender age of just 3, her parents separated, and unfortunately, she has not seen or heard from her dad since.
They all live in their tiny one-bedroom home, and her mom now carries the burden of trying to provide for her and her two elder siblings by working 7 days a week for minimal pay.
This means that every day she is forced to make the heartbreaking decision between sending her to school or using the money she needs for books and other learning materials to buy the family food for the day.
This severe financial struggle has meant that Joan has been unable to attend school regularly for many years and instead has been forced into collecting his neighbours’ trash in order to help his mom put food on the table.
Fortunately, we became aware of Joan through her grandmother, who knew of our education assistance program and applied on her behalf. We have been supporting this program since 2008, which has given Joan, like many other local children, the opportunity to get back into education. He now attends school every day.
Her renewed enthusiasm for education has seen her thrive in Math’s and English classes, as well as enjoying learning about his rights and developing wider social skills by making new friends at school.