Awori’s story inspires hope and charity

Amidst all the news of corruption, misuse of public funds, incoherent census result numbers, disease outbreaks, war and deaths, the media, regardless of the perception of it being a harbinger of bad news, manages to deliver some rays of hope in form of positive happy-ever-after stories every now and then that wash away the gloom and doom, even if only momentarily. 

Mercy Brenda Awori’s life as of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown to date that was highlighted in Daily Monitor of October 7 is one such story. Her story first ran in Daily Monitor in 2020. When we visited her in Lukone Village, Baitambogwe Sub-County, Mayuge District, about 12,000 of her bricks were in the kiln ready for combustion while about 3,000 were ready for sell. This money would then go to raise school fees. Because of her story of hard work and determination, she attracted donors that helped fund her education.

In our recent story, four years later, we highlight that the girl, who appeared in a photo then, dressed in muddied clothes looking every bit like the brick maker she had become, had enrolled for a diploma in Nursing at the Indian Institute of Health and Allied Sciences in Kampala. And her current photos show her fully clad in a nursing intern’s attire, all cleaned up. 

Ms Awori’s is a story of endless possibilities and we wish her even greater wins in life. Who knows, maybe years from today we can have another story of her defying even more odds.

In a country that is laden with much misfortune, especially for school going children who sometimes have to drop out because of lack of school fees and even end up becoming teenage mothers or street kids, such stories are a welcome balm and the media should be appreciated and encouraged for highlighting them. Not only does it give hope to learners who like Awori might be grappling with life but even the rest of us. 

It is our hope that when one reads such stories that they realise how much potential and how many futures are going to waste because of lack which is many times a trickle-down effect of corruption, greed and misappropriation of public funds by those we have entrusted with leading us and running public resources. 

Such stories also remind us to think beyond our needs and the needs of those we call family. 

Let us, like Odur Foundation and Liquid Telecom in this case reach out in whatever capacity and positively affect those who might be less fortunate. 

Not every Awori will be reached, supported or even have their story run in the media but every bit of goodwill counts. Let’s not fail to try to spread some good. It does come around you know.