If there’s one thing that gives me hope, it’s me Sylvia, seeing my children in school.

That sight alone; watching them walk with their books, wearing their uniforms fills my heart with joy.

But it hasn’t always been this way.

There was a time when I had lost all hope. My children had dropped out of school, and every day felt like a door closing on our future. I never thought I’d get the chance to see them learning again.

Life was hard. I can’t even remember the exact year, but my son was in Primary Five at Namungoona Kigobe Primary School when something unexpected happened, a turning point I’ll never forget.

He came home one day and told me, “Mummy, my teacher spoke to a gentleman from Faces Up Uganda, who through funds raised from sale of artworks and products wanted to help out with my school fees.

This sounded unreal and I didn’t believe it first time.

I remember one Sunday, after my son completed Primary Seven, Faces Up called a meeting.

They gave us 150,000 shillings and asked us to find a secondary school.

The first school we tried asked for 300,000.

I had no other money. I told my son, “Should we return the money?”

That day, he cried the whole day. He thought the dream of continuing school was gone forever.

But God works in mysterious ways.
A neighbour later suggested a more affordable school, and that’s how he continued. I think he was one of the first Faces Up students there. It wasn’t easy, but we made it.

My son loves school deeply. If you really want to hurt him, tell him he can’t go back, he will break down in tears.

My prayer is simple:
That my children, and all the other children Faces Up has supported, never forget where they came from.

May they grow up and lift others, the same way they were lifted.

I want this to be a chain of generosity.

Like a snail leaves a trail behind as it moves, I pray their lives leave a trail of hope for others to follow.

I’ve said so many prayers for Faces Up that maybe God is even tired of hearing the same one, but I know He listens.
This is a rare blessing. Many people spend so much money and still never get an opportunity like this. I don’t take it for granted.

Sometimes I think about the parents who gave birth to the young men behind Faces Up. I pray for them too.
Because their sons could have used their money for selfish things, but instead, they chose to lift others.

And that, that choice, has changed my family’s life forever.