By Eriah Lule
Tuition trauma was a tumor for Barbra Barbirye when she enrolled at Uganda Christian University (UCU) in 2011 to pursue a bachelor of procurement and logistics management. She was on the verge of quitting university to go work with her aunt to raise money for her studies.
The second born among the eight children of the late Waibi Charles Willy, a then secondary school teacher, and Waibi Ruth Kasobya, a primary school teacher in Iganga District, her parents had a very big and young family that needed support in their lower classes.
Babirye claims that her tuition challenge began in the first year. An introvert, yes, she was very quiet and less social, and she kept everything to herself despite the hard challenges she faced.
Babirye was blessed with Nakityo Getrude and Tumwebaze Caroline in her second year, second semester, who helped her with shelter, food, and academics. This meant she was still faced with the challenge of completing her coursework.
She opened up to her classmates about her challenges with paying tuition. Her class gave her a helping hand that semester by collecting some money towards her tuition.
“But we can collect something, and you top up at least,” suggested her classmate. The collection expanded among the staff and university community.
The classmates collected some money, but it wasn’t enough to cover all her tuition dues.
“I hadn’t cleared my past balance; I just registered for a dead semester but decided to keep around,” she said. “I participated in university activities, but deep inside me, I knew I wasn’t going to sit for my papers.”
“But would I still collect money to sit for my papers?” she asked. “I was just tired of soliciting for money every now and then,” she added.
But Matthew 7:7 spoke to Babirye’s heart: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” She wrote three letters to the Vice Chancellor, Director of Financial Aid (Scholarship Office), and Director of Student Affairs (DOSA), explaining her situation in a three-page document.
One afternoon, a message, “Please come to my office,” from the Emeritus DOSA Rev. Milton Tweheyo was the genesis of the good tidings in her life.
According to Babirye, the DOSA was touched and told her that it was the same situation that his wife passed through when she was a student. He had won her a scholarship through a network of friends before she realized she had a written interview ahead of her.
The DOSA also stated that she received the scholarship from the Stuart and Julia Creed Foundation in the United Kingdom. The scholar was to fully sponsor her until she finished her degree.
By God’s grace, if she was financially stable, as a token gesture, she had to support Amazing Grace Primary School in Kisoro in any way she could.
“At this point I knew nothing was impossible; sometimes you open up, and you never know who will give a hand,” she said.
The 32-year-old is the procurement officer of Pernix Construction LLC, a US-based construction company working on the renovation of the US Embassy in Kampala Uganda.
Oguta Fredrick, the Scholarship Officer, noted that the university has laid out various structures (offices) where you can run to in case you need help, but many students come to them at the last minute when papers are yet to kick off.
He also mentioned that the office always advertises scholarship opportunities or tuition-driven projects like the $10,000 Campaign, but only a small number of students participate, which is concerning.
“Despite the few students who turn up in our different tuition campaigns, we still welcome them, comfort them, and even pray with them as we devise solutions to their challenges,” he said.
