A few blogs ago I mentioned that I am helping a young man go back to school. What started as an acquaintance on the street has turned into a pulling at the heart strings as I learn more about Peter and his story. So I’d like to introduce you to this young man who has such a drive to go to school, improve his life and be a role model to others with the same plight.
I meet a lot of people on the street and we have brief casual conversations that consist mostly of greetings or “no, I’m sorry I don’t have any money to give you.” With Peter, this became a dialog about what he was trying to do to get the 100 or so street kids in Gulu off the street, fed, back into school or at the least back with families.
It wasn’t until later that I realized Peter had also been a street kid, getting random help from random people, working at odd jobs and getting a meal when he could. Yet Peter never asked for money or even implied that he was in need himself. It was only obliquely that I learned he was trying to get back into school. The focus was always on “his” street kids. He never mentioned that all of the money he had saved for school had been stolen (story to follow). That came to me quite by accident from another woman who was in Peter’s life when it happened.
Fast forward to my deciding to help Peter get into Gulu Public Primary School (Grades 1 – 7) where he will have shelter and food as well as education. Peter’s been on the street for a few years and has developed a level of autonomy that’s doesn’t fit too well in a school where you have to ask permission to go to the latrine! As is true for many students, he is much older than the typical American 7th grader, because students attend school when there is money, time, and parental permission. Yet, he’s driven to continue his education.
Last Sunday was Parent’s Day at the school – and I guess as his sponsor, I’m the closest thing Peter has to a parent, so I went, signed in as a “parent,” was given his test results and stayed to visit. I learned more about his history and had a fascinating conversation as Peter asked me about things he’d heard about the United States. Sooo interesting to learn what Ugandans have heard and how it’s been interpreted in the context of life in Uganda, half-truths and all. to do well and is following all the rules. So far – so good, and his teachers are noticing.
The more I learn about Peter, the more amazed I am at how this young man has managed to hold on to such a single vision and motivation to be educated. For the first few years of his life, Peter and his nine siblings were raised in a village on the outskirts of Gulu, much like the one pictured here. Evidently the mother left the picture early on and his father was left to raise the kids alone. They struggled for food and all of the children were expected to work in the fields or otherwise contribute to family livelihood. Peter made it to P3 before it became evident that his father would not/could not continue to send him to school and it became a source of chronic conflict and later abuse from his older siblings. So he went to live with another family after physical violence erupted as he became the referee to keep his older brother from stealing food from the Peter’s younger siblings. The new “family” got him through another year of school, but that living arrangement fell apart as well. (Nearly every family I meet here has at least a few extra kids living with them or has sent their kids to live with someone who is better equipped to handle them. The nuclear family is non-existant here for the most part.)
The more I learn about Peter, the more amazed I am at how this young man has managed to hold on to such a single vision and motivation to be educated. For the first few years of his life, Peter and his nine siblings were raised in a village on the outskirts of Gulu. Evidently the mother left the picture early on and his father was left to raise the kids alone. They struggled for food and all of the children were expected to work in the fields or otherwise contribute to family livelihood. Peter made it to P3 before it became evident that his father would not/could not continue to send him to school and it became a source of chronic conflict and later abuse from his older siblings. So he went to live with another family after physical violence erupted as he became the referee to keep his older brother from stealing food from the Peter’s younger siblings. The new “family” got him through another year of school, but that living arrangement fell apart as well. (Nearly every family I meet here has at least a few extra kids living with them or has sent their kids to live with someone who is better equipped to handle them. The nuclear family is non-existant here for the most part.)