By Nicole Nankya
Namiiro Benita, a fourth-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Law at Uganda Christian University (UCU), has been facing difficulties with paying her tuition fees since she joined the university. During her first semester, she was unable to pay the full amount, but her lecturer, Bulungu John, helped her by topping up her remaining tuition balance.
“I had only paid half of the tuition, and my lecturer, Bulungu John, helped me complete my tuition for the first year, the first semester,” Namiiro said.
Since her father’s passing, Namiiro’s mother has been the sole breadwinner, making it difficult for her to support Namiiro and her siblings. Although Namiiro had no hopes of continuing her education after completing her senior year vacation due to her humble background, her mother encouraged her to enroll in university, and they searched for possible ways to pay for her tuition.
“My mother wanted me to serve as a good example to my siblings, and so she encouraged me to enroll in the university,” said Namiiro. She pledged to find all possible ways of paying my tuition. Although this has still troubled her through my four years at UCU,
Despite facing financial challenges, Namiiro has been determined to pursue her education. In her second year, she tried different options, such as work and study, financial aid, saving a buddy, the guild fund, moving around hostels to in quest for some contribution, and class rounds to raise tuition fees. Although some of these options affected her mental well-being and academic performance, Namiiro persevered to achieve her academic goals.
“During the hostel rounds, not everyone had kind words to say to me,” she said. “I didn’t want to put myself in that situation anymore because it affected me mentally,” she added.
In her quest to find tuition, she had little time to prepare for her papers, which affected her performance.
Fortunately, Namiiro learned about the 10K campaign in her fourth year, which is a fundraiser aimed at raising money through many people simply donating Uganda shillings—ten thousand—to provide tuition assistance or relief to financially disadvantaged students, including clergy and their children. She applied for the sponsorship and was successful.
Through the 10K campaign, Namiiro was connected to some good samaritans known as the Ubuntu Leadership Center, which offered her a full scholarship for her tuition fees, which brought her peace of mind and improved her academic performance significantly. Namiiro expressed her gratitude to all those who contributed to the $10,000 campaign, which has been a lifeline to her and other students who face financial challenges while pursuing their education at UCU.
“Two days before my exams, I was called at the scholarship office, giving me the green light to go and print my examination permit,” she said.
This meant that her tuition had been fully paid for, unlike before, where she would even pay tuition on the last day or hours before the paper. This gave her the peace of mind to concentrate and prepare for her exams, leading to better results.
“Honestly, last semester was one of my best performances ever since I started law,” Namiiro said.
Namiiro is grateful for the opportunity and thanks the Ubuntu Leadership Center, which provided her with the scholarship, as well as everyone who contributed to the $10,000 campaign.
The $10,000 campaign is intended to raise tuition assistance for clergy, children of clergy, and other financially disadvantaged students. The campaign is running until June 2023.
