Daniel Ngorok has been studying hard to break the cycle of poverty in his family, blessed by a free education at Akigyeno Nursery and Primary school in Uganda’s Karamoja region.
Before he started school at eight years old, Daniel looked after his father’s sheep. He is privileged to access free education at Akigyeno school, while most of his peers stay home or use their time to herd cattle.
Late last year, Daniel was among the best performing students in the primary leaving examinations, coming up with a first grade. To a child from Daniel’s background, this is a huge success.
“I want to thank our teachers who prepared us for these exams,” Daniel said. “They gave us torches to revise from home because our village lacks electricity. When I went back home, I’d fetch water from the well, and help with other house chores, before I would start reading my books again.”
Karamoja is Uganda’s poorest region, with poverty levels assessed as four times the national average.
“I’m always awestruck when I fly here,” said MAF pilot Niels Blok.
“The way people live is very different compared to the rest of Uganda. It’s amazing to fly organisations like Ezekiel 37 Ministry and support them in their service to the poorest people of Uganda.”
I’m always awestruck when I fly here. It’s amazing to fly organisations like Ezekiel 37 Ministry and support them in their service to the poorest people of Uganda.
The school, located in Napak district, is run by MAF partners Ezekiel 37 Ministry who aim to support at least some of the thousands of children whose families are too poor to afford an education.
MAF flies their staff from Entebbe to Moroto, which is about 45 minutes from Napak.
By road, it would cost school director Rebecca Sekamanya and her team a full day to travel to Napak, but an MAF flight covers the same distance in just under an hour and a half.
“I want to thank MAF for helping mama Becky and the rest of our sponsors for transporting them here. I know it is very far, and I appreciate them so much,” Daniel said.
When we first met Daniel, he told us that his dream was to become a surgeon, so he could treat his family and community. He was inspired by the lack of health facilities and doctors in his area.
But now, he seems to have changed his mind.
“I now want to be an accountant,” he said. “If I study to be an accountant, I will graduate from school faster than I would if I study to be a surgeon. I want to finish quickly so I can take care of my parents’ financial needs.”
The reason Daniel wants to change his professional dream is a painful one. Unlike other children, young people in these communities are continually haunted by the poverty they see around them every day. It eventually affects their life choices.
“My parents are getting old. If my father retires from his night guarding job, he will have no other place to work, and I must help take care of the family,” Daniel said.
During his vacation, Daniel has worked as a hawker, selling household items door-to-door for his cousin in Moroto, a nearby district. From his earnings, an equivalent of a dollar a day, he’s been able to supplement his father’s income.
“I’ve also been able to buy a school bag for myself,” he said, looking ahead.
As 14-year-old Daniel enrols into the next level of schooling and focusses on his new dream, Rebecca’s own dream is getting into sight.
“Our plan for this year is to send these children to a school with a good foundation,” she said. “We have found one in Soroti.”
