Youth Feature of the Week # 2

This is a special feature as Gideon is no longer at HOPE Primary School. But we felt his story and profile was worth sharing. Gideon lives in Nsambya (if you’re a loyal reader you’ll recognize that name as the location in Kampala SWB has another program in) and is a refugee from the DRC. Gideon’s father is around 70 years old and no longer able to work and his mother disappeared when he was young, so he held a job while attending Primary school in order to be able to pay his school fees, which was the only way he could attend school (a school taught in a language that he had to learn as he went along). This is another reason why HOPE is such a unique and amazing institution, because as much as it struggles to adequately pay its teachers or at times settle past debts, it won’t turn away students who cannot pay right away and offers a reduced price for refugee children. Back to Gideon. He casually and shyly told us he walked to school from Nsambya everyday (because he couldn’t afford to take a taxi, which costs 1,200 Uganda shillings – around 60 cents). In a taxi it takes around 50 minutes to get from Ndejje to Nsambya. He would wake up at 5am and start his journey without breakfast (and unfortunately was not be able to afford to eat lunch at school as well) and roll into school right around its start, which is 7:30 am. And after school he walked back home – and apparently never passed up playing football before his long journey back. It is reminiscent of our grandparents telling us how they used to walk a mile to school everyday…but minus the African heat and extremely unsavory road conditions (e.g. boda boda drivers, dusty dusty roads, etc.). It makes you feel guilty for cutting classes, no? It does for me! Gideon is an inspiration and I am truly hopeful he is able to find the funds to continue his education at the Secondary level. He certainly deserves it. Enjoy his profile below…

Name: Gideon Mambandi
Age: 16
Nationality: Congolese
Grade: 2009 P7 Graduate

“Where are you from in the Congo, do you have any siblings and when did you move to Uganda?”
GM: I am from Kisangani in the Congo. My sister Agnes is 14 and goes to HOPE school now. We never fight. I moved to Uganda when I was a baby and don’t remember it.

“What have you been up to since graduating from HOPE Primary School?”
GM: I am looking for Secondary Schools but they are all too expensive. It costs UGS 500,000 ($250.00) a term and there are three terms [in a school year].

“What do you miss most about HOPE?”
GM: I miss games…football. And my favorite subject was History.

“Tell us what a normal day for you is like.”
GM: I wake up and pray in the morning, then mop the house and sweep the compound, make tea, rest, play football and then go home.

“What is the hardest struggle you ever faced and how did you overcome it?”
GM: When I was starting at HOPE school it was a hard struggle to get up and walk to school everyday, for two hours there and two hours back.

“Who is your hero/person you respect most in the world?”
GM: I respect my elders because they take care of me.

“What is your favorite food, music singer and football team?”
GM: Rice and beans, Usher and Manchester United.

“Who do you think will win the World Cup?”
GM: Brazil