APPEAL FOR EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP OF 3 ORPHAN SIBLINGS IN UGANDA TO PROGRESS THEIR EDUCATION

Joseph Okello, the elder sibling, Born: 8 September 1998, Kampala, Uganda

Ronnie Ochero, Born: 9 November 1999, Kampala, Uganda

Faith Ochol, Born: 26 December 2005, Kampala, Uganda

Uganda Guardian: Ms Benna Alyek, Dokolo, Lira, Uganda.

UK Contact, Uncle: Mr Albino Ochero-Okello,

September 2017

I came to the UK as a refugee in 1987 from Uganda because of the political and civil war that had engulfed the country. I have been employed by the British Red Cross at the UK Head Office since 1990 in the International Family Tracing department. I am married with three children and now a British citizen. I have kept in touch with my family since coming to the UK.

I visited Uganda in December 2006.The following year in July 2007 I received the sad news that my younger brother, Alfred Ochol Okello, had died of an Aids-related illness. He left behind a widow and three very young children namely Joseph (9), Ronnie (8) and Faith (2). His widow is physically and mentally unwell and was unable to bring the children up. It dawned upon me that the future of my brother’s orphaned children looked bleak so I have taken responsibility for them and have since been paying their school fees from primary education through to secondary. In addition to this I have also been paying the school fees for eight other orphaned relatives in Uganda.

Joseph

Joseph Okello has finished secondary school. His dream is to become a doctor. He wants to study Clinical Medicine at Fort Portal University in Western Uganda and has worked extremely hard and done well enough to get in.The university course started September 2017. He has been offered a place as a private student. He failed to get government sponsorship so he has to self-sponsor as a private student to achieve his dream.

The fees for studying Clinical Medicine are:

Tuition fees are about = £600 per semester amounting to £1,800 p.a. Additional requirements (books, uniform, stethoscope, transport, etc.) are approximately £800 per year.

TOTAL TUITION PER YEAR = £2,600. TOTAL TUITION FOR 3 YEAR COURSE = £7,800.

Ronnie

Ronnie Ochero is in his final year of Secondary School at Busoga College Mwiri, Eastern Uganda. He dreams of becoming a pilot. I recently went to Uganda in April 2017 to see my elderly mother and other relatives, and I visited Ronnie at school. On the morning of my return to London Ronnie handed me a letter in a sealed envelope, saying: “Uncle, I have written you this letter. Do not open it now. I want you to read it when you arrive in London”.

When I arrived back in London I opened the letter and read. It was very moving. Tears welled up in my eyes, I felt a lump in my throat. In fact, I cried. I cried mainly because I worry so much that because of my financial constraints I may not be able to help my orphaned nephews to realise their dreams. Here is the full text of Ronnie’s letter,

1st May 2017

Ronald Ochero

Busoga College Mwiri.”...End.

Tuition fees for Ronnie including requirements at Busoga College are about £300 per semester. Times 3 semesters = £300 x 3 = £900

TOTAL TUITION FOR THE YEAR = £1,800.

Faith

Faith is still in primary education. Her yearly tuition fees up to primary 7 are only about £150 – including requirements. This is still manageable by me.

When Faith starts secondary education in 2020, this will change. Tuition fees and requirements will go up to about £900 per year.

The total amount of tuition fees needed for all the three orphans for a year is:

Joseph £2,600, Ronnie £900 and Faith £450 Total = £3,950

Given the above figure I must admit I can no longer afford it on my salary and with a mortgage still to pay. This is the reason that I am asking you for help. I would very much like to see my nephews and niece progress in their studies but the cost of educating them has become too expensive for me to manage.

Any amount that you may be able to afford, however small it is, will be very much appreciated and go some of the way to meeting the target goal.

Thank you very much in advance for your time and for your assistance towards this cause.

Yours sincerely,

Albino Ochero-Okello