“Dear Students, My name is Sebastian and I was born during the insurgency in northern Uganda. During this period the activity was at its peak. As a result I lost my father when I was just a three-month old baby. I cannot remember my father up to now, because, all the photos in our house were burned by the rebels. I was remaining with my mother, only when I reached four years old my mother was also captured and was given the same punishment as my father. After that life was very hard. My sister became the head of the family. Luckily our aunt living in an urban center took us in and gave us an education though when I reached Primary Six in 2009 my aunt ran a shortage of money to continue our education. In the second term, U-TOUCH thankfully came to support us in school. I am very happy to be in school, which is only possible because of U-TOUCH. I deeply appreciate LJHS for your support, not only paying our school fees but also offering scholastic materials toward our education. You work so tirelessly to make sure that we have a bright future for a better tomorrow. I appreciate LJHS U-TOUCH Club and M students for their great work. Thank you! Life in our district is only slightly easier now that the war has ended but if you are not hard working or educated, things are even worse. One needs to use both their brains and manual effort to survive at least fairly here. To me, school has been the best place since I am able to meet different people from different backgrounds and I learn a lot from them. I love reading books and adventuring, since I am passionate to know what goes on beyond my locality. In school, my favorite subjects are mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry. Thank you for your kind loving support.”
~ Sebastian
We met Sebastian in 2009, when he was 11 years old living with his Grandma Francesca and seven cousins. We enrolled Sebastian at Negri Secondary School where he had been identified as a “bright and excellent” student, which was readily apparent. Sebastian had built a reading hut, where he and Julius, practiced to become proficient readers and scholars. At 11 years old, Sebastian built a working radio from a collection of junk parts – a Jerry Can (like a gas can) a small white plastic basket, antenna, circuit board, batteries, speakers and wire! Sebastian connected all the components and we danced to the music from his ingenious radio creation. Sebastian as an athlete plays soccer. He is funny, sensitive, and quick to smile. His teachers LOVE Sebastian and believe he has a terrific future since LJHS has kept him in school. Taking his education very seriously, Sebastian ranked top, #1 student four consecutive years in Secondary School, scored the highest on a national exam in his district, was invited to attend the top high school in Uganda and now attending Mbarara University for his Bachelor’s degree. Sebastian wants to be a physician to help his country’s extreme medical needs. Sebastian has a bright future if we keep him in school. “I am very happy to be at school and ‘am smelling’ the sense of achieving my dream of being a medical doctor just because of you, since you are always in touch” Please help Sebastian with his university education to realize his dream & create solutions to Uganda’s challenges. Your donation will make a difference! Thank you!
Deborah founded U-TOUCH (Universal Technology Outreach Community Hubs) in 2010 and is Executive Director of the San Diego-based 501 (c) 3, non-profit organization while also registered as a Non-Governmental Organization, (NGO) in Uganda.
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