Orphan from Uganda: Admission to Waseda University

~ ¡ÈDreams come true!¡É ~

 

¡ÈSugoi! Sugoi! Sugoi! Echiroto Chitou Kelila (Dreams come true)!!!¡É

On December 16 in 2005, the moment Nabukenia Ritah (19) heard that she had been enrolled in the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University in Tokyo, she cried with joy in her own language mixing with some Japanese. Her mother, Nanyonga (35), shook her voice and thanked God. All of her friends had been waiting and waiting to hear the news. Their voices echoed through the sunrise of Africa. ¡ÈCongratulations, Ritah!¡É ¡ÈCongratulations!!¡É

Driving for just 10 minutes from the capital city, Kampala, there is a small village of Nansana, where more than 1000 children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS reside.

Ritah is one of them. She was born and raised in the village. When she was 7 years old, she lost her father, Luke (at the age of 30), to AIDS. ¡ÈAIDS took away many things, such as my father, daily life of eating full, and the most important thing¡Ä hope. I cried on the day I could only have a cup of tea.¡É

Most of the AIDS orphans are fighting against poverty. In addition, they are faced with fear of mother-to-child transmission and discrimination, as well as bullying (Ritah is HIV-negative). ¡ÈWe are also human beings,¡É Ronaud, at the age of 15 at the time, had appealed his emotion when the AIDS orphans visited Japan for the first time 4 years ago.

These children started to change when ¡ÈASHINAGA Uganda¡É was established in the village 2 years ago. More and more AIDS orphans began to talk about their dreams. ¡ÈTo enroll in a university¡Ä that is my dream.¡É Ritah used to talk to me about her dream at our Japanese class. ¡ÈIt is even difficult to attend a primary school¡Ä It is beyond our dream to attend a university.¡É In fact, she is the only one AIDS orphan in the village to graduate from high school so far.

She was able to finish high school -thanks to her mother, Nanyonga. She was the 2^nd youngest of the 15 brothers and sisters. Her family was poor, and she could only attend until middle school. When she lost her husband and hunted for a job, even a cleaner required a certificate from high school. ¡ÈTherefore, I was determined to make my children graduate from high school.¡É

Ritah¡Çs best friend, who is also an AIDS orphan, says, ¡ÈRitah is smart and a hard-worker. I¡Çm very proud of her.¡É Last July, Ritah was accepted to her first-choice national university; however, she could not earn a scholarship that she hoped to receive. ¡ÈI tried everything I could do, but I realized that I have to give up further education, and my mother and I broke down into tears. It comes down to the fact that it is impossible for AIDS orphans to achieve their goals. Effort doesn¡Çt bring you anywhere if you are poor¡Ä¡É

Not only Ritah but also other orphans were giving up. Around that time, she was asked at the Uganda Rainbow House if she would like to try a university in Japan. At first, she was hesitant; however, she eventually decided to apply, because she thought that was her last chance.

On December 3^rd, before she had her interviews at a university, I asked her what she would like to study at school. ¡ÈBeing accepted to school was my only goal at the beginning; however, I now want to seek how orphans who suffer from AIDS and poverty can have hope.¡É

           ¡ÈEchiroto Chitou Kelila (Dreams come true)!!!¡É she cried when she reported to her friends and many other AIDS orphans that she had passed the entrance exam to a university in Japan. ¡ÈI will not be the first and last foreign student. I¡Çm sure I can see everyone in Japan, so please continue to work hard.¡É A tremendous cheer rose up to her words. Applause was not only given to her but also to her friends and other orphans in the world.

           Julius (15), who participated in the ASHINAGA international summer camp in January 2005, says, ¡ÈMy dream is also to study in Japan. I was uncertain before, but I have faith now. If I work hard, I can make my dream come true, like Ritah.¡É

           ¡ÈGlorious Hope¡É was born in the suffering of the AIDS orphans themselves. Ritah is a star of hope for orphans in Uganda, Africa and the world!!!

Hiroyasu Sato

Staff Writer at Uganda Rainbow House