Story
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
Hello Uncle, how are you doing? Am fine back to me. I want to thank God for the gift of life he has given to you. I have written this letter to express my sincere apology for what happened when you took my phone. I misbehaved to you so I want you to forgive me for that. I want to study hard and be a good boy you will be proud of tomorrow. This time now there is no playing. I want to work hard and achieve my dream. Am very glad for you through your effort, love and care to support me in my studies; it is a dream come true to study at Busoga College Mwiri. May God bless you.
I want to take the challenge and perform at the top at Mwiri. I want to be a good boy at Mwiri and obey school rules and regulations, always work hard for the better of my school and future tomorrow. The dream is to work hard and achieve my goal. I want to work in the UK with British Airways. I love the Airways very much uncle. It will be a dream come true uncle to work there after my studies. I want to look after you uncle because you are now growing old every day. I want to take care of you uncle after my studies when I get a job. My dream is to be a pilot or aircraft controller. Achieving one of them will be the most interesting moment in my life. My dream is to work with aircraft.
Finally, I always pray God grant you the gift of life, strength, health and provide you with everything you request for. I want to see you in my life and take care of you. I like seeing you uncle because if I see you I see my dreams always coming true through you uncle. You are a good uncle and you still and always remain in my heart and life. I will never forget you uncle. That has been in me that am ready to change everything and perform at the top and make you happy. I want to read hard during this holiday, next term my performance is gonna be extraordinary uncle. I will put much effort in weak areas like maths and perform at the top uncle.
Send greetings to your family. Wish you happy stay in UK. Always love you and your family uncle.
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.
