Family circumstances and income had led Jubilee to the brink of dropping out, but with Temwa’s support, she is now looking forward to graduating!
20-year-old Jubilee lives with her mother, grandmother, and sister in Nkolero village. Despite knowing how important education is, Jubilee struggled to overcome barriers to attending school. Her mother’s income was unreliable, having been widowed a few years earlier when Jubilee was a young child and she couldn’t make enough to support her girls through subsistence farming and send them to school.
Not only this but the distance between home and school was extremely far – meaning Jubilee had to walk four kilometers each way to school and back every day.
When her mother remarried, Jubilee and her younger sister had to move out to live with their grandmother. It was at this point that Jubilee nearly dropped out of school, as it took three weeks for her grandmother to find the money to pay for her school fees. Jubilee was often sent home for not having the fees to pay her school, for having no uniform, and she was unable to study properly when allowed to stay because she didn’t have a good notebook.
Thankfully, and in the nick of time, Jubilee found Temwa’s bursary support and was awarded a place.
More time for Study
With Temwa’s support Jubilee has been able to stay in school and engage fully with her education. She says,
“Before Temwa I had no future with my education. I could have dropped out in the early classes of secondary school. I could have been married like some of the other girls that were not able to secure a bursary. I could not have been able to get all the necessities I need in school”, says Jubilee.
“But”, she continues, “ever since I started getting support from Temwa, my studies have been going very well. I have all the necessities I need in school. I am writing and keeping notes to read later after classes. I can also stay in school all the time without being chased away because of school fees.”
Crucially, Jubilee’s place in the girl’s hostel in Usisya near the school, allows her more time to put into her studies. The girl’s hostel in Usisya was built specially by Temwa to help young women stay in education, solving the issue of how girls would get to school and back safely. By reducing walking distances for girls to reach school, bursary students acanstay more alert and engaged and take their lessons on board more easily.
Before her bursary place, Jubilee says, “I was getting home tired most times and could hardly concentrate on reading. But with the support I have been getting from Temwa, and my place at the hostel, I now have enough time to read. This has helped to improve my performance. I will be sitting for my examinations soon, and I am confident that I will do well.”
What’s Next for Jubilee?
In future, Jubilee would like to become a journalist and inspire other girls in her village.
The wider community has also taken note of the educational opportunities facilitated by Temwa, making more parents aware of the value of education and sending their children to school.