Rachael Babirye and Resty Nangobi dig for fees and living in Kamuli District. PHOTO/SAM CALEB OPIO
Sixty days after schools reopened for third term, Rachael Babirye, 19, and her sister Resty Nangobi, 20, have only attended lessons for three days due to lack of fees.
Subsequently, their dreams to become medical surgeon and Midwife respectively shimmer like a mirage in the desert.
The two sisters are in Senior Five offering Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics (BCM) at Kyabazinga College in Kamuli District. The live in Buwenge Mpya, Northern Division, Kamuli Municipal Council,
The school’s head teacher, Mr Hussein Wanume, told Monitor on October 27 that “they are the only two students in ‘A’ Level who are day scholars, but are hardworking, have high concentration levels and sense of discipline, notwithstanding reporting late and irregular attendance.”
He added: “Imagine they spend a month or more at home, but when they come to school, they concentrate and compete with those who study full time.”
Rachael Babirye and her sister Resty Nangobi at their home in Kamuli District, ready for school. PHOTO/SAM CALEB OPIO
The sisters sat for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) at Oxford International School Kavule in Namasagali Sub-county, and scored aggregates 11 and 12 respectively.
While at Oxford International, they cooked porridge in the morning for pupils in the boarding section and worked in the school’s demonstration garden in the evening to chalk off some fees balances.
When they later joined Kasambira Community College for their Ordinary Level, they raised fees largely through doing odd jobs and sympathy from school directors.
However, by 2022, they had only raised registration fees for only one of them (Babirye), who went on to sit for ‘O’ Level and scored aggregate 32.
The following year (2023), Babirye could not join Senior Five because it was time to raise fees for Nangobi, who also sat for ‘O’ Level and scored aggregate 34.
“This term, people are poor and whatever money we get from digging and washing their clothes is too little to save and pay fees, given that we also need food, sanitary pads and scholastic materials. But we shall complete our studies at all cost, even if we study for one week and pick up notes to copy every other evening,” Nangobi said.
Rachael Babirye and Resty Nangobi washing a client's clothes in Kamuli District. PHOTO/SAM CALEB OPIO
She added: “Our struggle to access education, which is our only last hope and key, is boosted by stories of Fisheries Minister Hellen Adoa, who says she worked at school for her fees, and Minister Milly Babalanda (Presidency), who said she did odd jobs to raise fees.”
“So, we believe God will raise us, too. Even if we spend ten years in secondary school, as long as we finally get somewhere. Already, our tomorrow is already far better than where we started in Primary,” she said.
Their mother Esther Mukyala Mutesi, said she walked out of her abusive marriage and has been sending her daughters some help until her fishing business took a hit when the Fisheries Protection Unit intensified its operations on immature fishing on the lakes.
“I am happy to learn that they are struggling to be in school and pray that peer pressure doesn’t lead them astray,” she said.
Ms Mutesi’s concerns come after her daughters had been hired as waitresses but decided to quit just two days into the job following incessant sexual advances from men.
Their relocation from their grandmother to a one-roomed house their father abandoned in town hasn’t made matters better after their relatives started quietly finding husbands for them.
Mr Mohamed Zirabamuzaale, their immediate neighbour, described the girls as “serious students”, who despite being abandoned by parents, continue living a “dignified life”.
“They (girls) have a future to live because while many girls in this town get spoiled, they are principled. It is school time but when you randomly check on them, you find them reading their books. Sometimes they come to my daughter for guidance,” he said.
According to Mr Zirabamuzaale, the girls’ parents separated due to domestic violence, adding that the father was always quarreling and fighting whenever he was drunk, and lost his driving job due to excessive consumption of alcohol.
Babirye and Nangobi however, say there is no permanent animosity towards their parents for abandoning them. Instead, when God delivers them to success, they will look for their parents, especially the father, “rehabilitate” and thank him for “making them resilient”.
