Children's Stories Illustrate their Dreams and Challenges
ACESWorld is helping to support families in need in Uganda through the Child Sponsorship Program. Sponsoring a child costs about $1 a day, which is used to provide the child’s family with access to food and other necessities. Sponsors can also build relationships with children, as the ACESWorld team can keep them connected through letters and emails. Information about participating children can be found on the ACESWorld website. Their stories are concise, yet they showcase the spirit and aspirations of these children.
One common theme that comes up in many of the children’s stories is the desire to attend school. Often families living in poverty cannot afford the school fees needed to send children to school. Tracy, unlike most children interviewed in this initiative, lives with two parents. As subsistence farmers, her parents work hard to provide food for their eight children. Despite both parents working, they cannot provide extra money for school. Tracy reports being turned away 6 days out of 10 due to inability to pay school fees. Despite this vast disadvantage, Tracy says she is knowledgeable in her classes when she does attend, and she dreams of becoming a doctor. Even very young children are kept out of school when families don’t have resources. 6 year old Carsten must sometimes stay at home to care for her younger brother because her mother needs to work in the stone quarry to earn money to provide for them both. Even when families have money for school fees, it’s not always an easy journey. Godfrey must cross a river and walk through a forest to get to school. It is clear why this situation may be unsafe or impossible for vulnerable children.
In addition to their dedication to school, the children in the Child Sponsorship Program often emphasized their career ambitions. Five of the children interviewed said they hope to become doctors, including 11 year old Mackline who told ACESWorld that she is inspired to work hard at school because of female doctors she has met. 12 year old Wilson wants to be a pilot so he can visit other countries. Other children aspire to become teachers, nurses and an engineer. It is clear that although these families face daunting obstacles to providing for their children’s needs, the children see many opportunities and hope for their futures.
This article references the stories of several children participating in ACESWorld’s Child Sponsorship Program. Their full bios, and those of others, can be found here on ACESWorld’s website. Please take the time to read about their lives and support the program.