Auma, a future journalist, juggles school leadership, music, and acting! She grew up in a large family with a single mom that struggled to afford school for her six children. Now, education has brought her the hope and opportunity of a brighter future. Auma is determined to succeed, overcome hardships, and bring positive change to her family. We are inspired by Auma’s enthusiasm for learning and honing her crafts, and can’t wait to see her continue to unravel all of her talents.
Hi, my name is Auma; I am in Senior Six Arts at Musana Vocational High School and am a God-fearing person. I am the firstborn in my family. Currently, in school leadership, I am the head of all prefects.
I dream of becoming a journalist, but mostly, I want to specialize in mass communication because I love speaking to people since I am an extrovert. On top of this, I love music and acting. So far, I have been able to record four of my songs.
As my siblings and I were growing up, life was a mess before Project Yesu. Even though my single mother tried her best to see that my siblings and I went to school, she always struggled as a responsible mother to ensure we went to school. Because we were six children in the family, some of us were always being sent back home for school fees. She didn’t have a stable source of income because of the many home responsibilities of ensuring that we got basic life needs such as clothes, food, shelter, and medication. This made it hard for her to be able to pay fees for us.
I am grateful to Project Yesu because when my twin brother Michael and I felt like giving up on our education, that’s when Project Yesu came in to support us by providing school fees, which revived our hope of studying. To be honest, I wouldn’t have known or experienced boarding life if it wasn’t for the help of Project Yesu. Since Primary Five, Project Yesu has been supportive of us. That is why I am here at Musana Vocational High School today, finishing my two years in Advanced Level and working very hard to make sure I join the university to do journalism. I also want to thank Project Yesu for organizing guiding and counseling programs for us, especially the youths, to help us cope with life in our youthful stage. This has enabled us to overcome the challenges that we face as girls. Project Yesu also organizes youth camps where we meet different youths who share their life experiences with us; in this, we learn to be patient in everything we do. We are also taught how to do crafts, such as weaving baskets and door mats.
Unfortunately, the conflicts between my parents at home torture us psychologically, but we still believe we are to make it because nothing comes on a silver plate. It is all out of hard work and determination, and I am determined to make it in life and bring change to my family.
I also want to thank Project Yesu for standing with us by providing books and sanitary pads for the girls. I am grateful to Project Yesu for supporting the students' talents; for example, for the girls' football club, they provided us with balls, bags, water bottles, and sports shoes, which enabled us to train. Not only that, but they also support my other talents. For example, they have not stopped me from acting in films and recording my songs. Instead, they have encouraged me to go for what I want while balancing books and talent. May the Lord bless you abundantly.
As I conclude, all these are the driving forces for me to work very hard and use the education opportunity given to me through sponsorship. I believe I will achieve my dream of becoming a journalist thanks to all the support that everyone invests in my future.
This story has been edited for length and clarity.