When our Father passed on, school fees and scholastic materials became one of my biggest challenges in life. My mother couldn’t afford most of the things I needed for school, so I Jerusha started helping people in the neighbourhood with washing their dishes and in return, they’d give me some money. I saved what I could and used it to buy a few of the materials I needed. Life wasn’t easy, and sometimes I felt like giving up, but deep down, I knew I had to keep going.

In 2023, during the third term of my Senior One. That’s when a group of people from Faces Up visited our school. They’d been invited by our headmaster to conduct a mentorship and art session. When they saw me and heard my story, they mentioned they would try to do something.  Because they pay school fees for many other children, taking care of my fees wasn’t in the budget at that time. They said they would try to talk to someone to help pay my fees, which they did and one day. Mr Emma gave me a phone to speak to Treasure Layola .

Just like her name sounds, she became my treasure, my sponsor and has paid my fees ever since then. I Jerusha, wasn’t expecting it and it was a huge relief to my mother and me. Since then, I’ve been able to stay in school without worrying whether I’ll be sent home again.

I’ve also been learning computer skills that I never thought I’d ever get a chance to learn. When I had just started, I used to struggle a lot with ICT in school, but now I’ve learned how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, and Publisher at the Faces Up art centre in Masanafu, Bukuluugi. With Publisher, I can design things like calendars and business cards. I didn’t know I had that in me, but now I can even think about using those skills to start a small business or find work in the future. That alone gives me hope that I’ll be able to support myself one day.

Even with all these new skills, my heart still wants to become a doctor, an optician to be specific. That’s the dream I hold. In school, I focus a lot on my science classes, especially biology, because I want to understand more about the human eye and how it works. Every day in class feels like a step closer to that dream, and now that my school fees are covered, I can fully concentrate on my studies without having to worry about being chased away for fees.

If I ever got the chance to speak to other girls my age, I would tell them to hold on to their dreams tightly. No matter what happens, they should keep their focus, be respectful to their parents, and not be a burden to them because our parents are already dealing with so much. I’ve learned that being obedient and staying disciplined really matters. It helps you stay on track even when life gets tough.

Join us on this course to empower and create life-transforming opportunities for girls like Jerusha or even Tracy‘s. Here are the 3 ways you can get involved.

1: Share this post with someone you think might want to take a look.

2: Donate today to Faces Up

3: Shop for merchandise or artworks that give a gift of education to girls at the margin. Facesup Store – Faces Up Store

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