A Student and Entrepreneur

Emmanuel Mukose

“Give a child a fish and you feed them for a day.

Teach the child to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.”

At ACT, our purpose is to support orphans and disadvantaged children in Africa and give them hope of a better future. We believe that education is the key to that better future and a productive life. Several hundreds of children and young people from poor, mainly women-led households in Africa, have benefitted from our work and have received an education. Among them, a few hundreds have or are currently pursuing a higher education through ACT. From diplomas to university degrees, vocational education training and medical qualifications, they are living a dream that they otherwise could never have dreamt or imagined. At ACT, we support those who otherwise are left behind by society to achieve great goals in life.

Emmanuel – A life Transformed

Emmanuel Mukose, popularly known as Emma by his friends, is one example of the several hundreds of children and young people benefitting from ACT support. Born in 1997 he grew up in Walukuba, Uganda living with his grandmother. An orphan, both of his parents died from AIDS, his father in 2000 and his mother seven years later. There are thousands of young people in Uganda who have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Data from UN-AIDS shows that in 2019 there were 880,000 children who had been orphaned in Uganda due to AIDS.

Emmanuel and one of his 7 siblings lived with their elderly grandmother.  The other siblings lived with other relatives. The physical disabilities of his grandmother meant that she was unable to work to provide for her grandsons. She depended on the help of neighbours and extended family to provide for their needs and is how the family came to the attention of Christian Vision, ACT partner in Uganda.  They arranged for the family to receive ACT support, including education for Emmanuel and provision of food and other needs of the family. His school fees and educational needs were taken care of, enabling him to focus on his studies. He completed primary and secondary school and dreamt to go on to higher education.

Then came the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and Uganda went into very strict lockdown. Much like most of the world, schools in Uganda were shut. Emmanuel had sat the Form 6 secondary school leaving exams in 2019 and was waiting for the results. With the lockdown and schools closed, his ambition of higher education was put on hold.

Aubergine is growing

But Emmanuel is ambitious and determined, a real go-getter who wants to succeed, and is not afraid to work hard and pursue his dreams. For him, adversity is no barrier. So, rather than do nothing while waiting for schools to re-open, he used his time productively and with the Covid support funds that ACT sent to our supported families, he started farming and planted aubergines, tomatoes and other vegetables. Unfortunately, heavy rains and with tight lockdown conditions, there was no access to the market to sell his products. Undeterred, Emmanuel had a new idea, he turned his focus to piggery. This has been more successful, and he is expecting a litter of piglets which he hopes to sell to generate an income.

Emmanuel and two of his pigs

It was during the lockdown that Emmanuel’s grandmother passed away. He was sad to lose her as she had brought him up and looked after him during the most difficult time of his life when his mother died. It was in the midst of this setback that he received good news that he was successful in the 6^th form exams and has been selected to study for a Diploma in Pharmacy at St Francis School of Health Science.

Institutions of higher education in Uganda re-opened this April and Emmanuel has begun a new journey, that of becoming a pharmacist. In the meantime, he still hopes to keep an eye on his farming projects, which his brother will look after while he is away studying at St. Francis.

Emmanuel’s is a story of determination, perseverance and resilience and shows just how far a person can go with a little help and support. We at ACT are proud of Emmanuel and are looking forward to what the future holds for him.

You can transform a life for the better today.

There are many children like Emmanuel seeking support, particularly during this difficult and challenging time of Covid-19 and the setback it has caused to many poor families in Africa.

If you have been moved by Emmanuel’s story, please consider sponsoring a vulnerable child or orphan with just £15 a month or make a donation to our work. Click here to find out how.