Maria’s story

When we first met Maria, she was a young girl living in Namuwongo, Uganda’s second-largest slum settlement. Most of the 15,000 people living there are in extreme poverty, earning less than £1 a day. Girls are at high risk of teenage pregnancy and school drop-out. Maria told us: ‘being raised in Namuwongo, one of the oldest slums in Kampala, was a tough experience. The number of children not going to school was alarming.’ 

But by joining one of our programmes, Maria went to school and has since graduated from university. We caught up with her to find out how education transformed her life. 

Growing up in Namuwongo 

At first, Maria was lucky to attend a primary school in Namuwongo which was offering free education to the slum community, but in primary four grade [around age 10], the school scrapped free access to schooling to all children whose parents were not HIV positive. She remembers her mum saying she wished she had HIV just so that her daughter could continue her studies. ‘That statement from a mother left me weeping the whole day. She was desperate to give me a future,’ Maria said. 

Then, Maria joined the Walk to School project and was given another shot at getting an education. ‘The fun day outings, end of year parties, surprise gifts were heart thrilling. It literally met every aspect of needs a girl child would require,’ she recalls. ‘Even after educating me right from primary four to senior six, Walk to School surprised us with a food package in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic! [They] have remained an integral part of my family.’ 

The road to university 

Although she had finished school, university still seemed like a far-off dream for Maria as a young woman. After getting a job as a receptionist, she met her now-husband, who wanted to do everything he could to support her dream of getting a university education. He encouraged her to apply to courses and offered to support her through her studies.  

‘I got the offer to study Bachelor of Community Based Rehabilitation from Kyambogo University in Kampala which I completed in December 2024. This course was drawn from the very experience I had as a child growing up in a dysfunctional social environment,’ Maria says.  

‘I felt by this course I would be able to support the vulnerable people in my community. I feel extremely blessed for having had the opportunity to achieve my education goal.  And I believe with the skills and knowledge acquired through this course, I will be able to greatly impact the lives of most especially vulnerable girls, children and mothers in my community.’ 

Impact of education 

Maria told us why education is so crucial for girls: 

‘Education offers women opportunity to make lasting contributions to nation building, you can see the number of educated women in our governance system; with education, women are able to fight for their rights to contribute to the world, education gives women access to proper health care and most of all, with university education, women attract better pay and hence financial independence.’ 

Chance for Childhood supports thousands of children like Maria to go to school, learn and reach their full potential. The Walk to School programme Maria participated in is still running in Namuwongo, and continues to help children travel to school and stay in education.