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“I will never stop learning,” Lapeko Goretti adamantly proclaims. “My hair may turn gray, but as long as I’m still breathing, I’ll never stop learning.”
Lapeko Goretti, raised by her grandmother in Northern Uganda, had the unexpected opportunity to attend school through Project Have Hope’s scholastic sponsorship program. No one in her family – grandmother, mother, nor older sisters – had ever attended school. She knew of the word, school, but attached no meaning to it. She recalls when she was asked if she’d prefer boarding or day school, the only word she understood was “gang kwan” (school). Boarding school, day school, she knew nothing of either. So she just picked one – boarding school. “Project Have Hope bought me a mattress, blanket, sheets, shoes, everything!” Lapeko recalls, flooded by a memory of excitement. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ I’m going to school finally!”
From village life to boarding school was a drastic change, but Lapeko’s strength is in her adaptability. The language barrier was her greatest challenge. She spoke only Acholi, whereas everyone else mostly spoke English. Fellow PHH students helped to teach her English. By her second year in school, she ranked second in her class.
“I was born to learn new things,” Lapeko states with confidence. “I enjoy learning new things, new experiences, learning by meeting people from new cultures. Learning makes me capable of making a future.”
Upon completing senior four, she pursued a course in hotel management. The curriculum prepared her for many roles in the industry – that of receptionist, housekeeper, waitress and chef. Currently, she works at a small guest house filling a variety of roles, as needed.
Lapeko is grateful for the opportunity to go to school and values it as a gift not all children are able to receive. “Don’t give up on your dreams,” she encourages the younger generation. “Aim high.”
She lives by her own words. “I still have dreams. Marriage comes after.” Lapeko is determined to build her own future. “By working, I know I can take care of myself and I’m not dependent on a husband.” In a culture where girls tend to marry young and live a life strapped to bearing children and taking care of the home, Lapeko has chosen an uncommon path.
An avid student, Lapeko is currently enrolled in both a computer course and a German language class. Fluency in English, Swahili and basic French is not enough to satiate her appetite to learn. “And after I finish that, next I’ll go for a driving course,” she says with the ferocious confidence of the go-getter that she is. “Through learning, I can get opportunities. If I fail to get a catering job, I can get a job with a foreign language, or even a job driving.” Lapeko’s drive to learn and willingness to adapt are helping her to create a future of unbridled success.
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"I think big!" gushes Eric. "I want to be the best designer ever!"
His goals aren’t limited to fashioning clothes, but to every aspect of design. With unbridled ambition, a strong work ethic and passion, this 22 year old is unstoppable.
Thanks to Project Have Hope's scholastic sponsorship program, Eric had the opportunity to pursue a course in fashion and design, and is currently employed by a company that manufactures clothes for government contracts.
Eric’s passion for design was ignited when he was 17 years old. His uniform was too big and ill-fitting. He was determined to fix it. “ ‘Let me try,’ ” he recalls saying to himself as he sat behind a sewing machine for the first time to adjust his uniform. “From that day, I loved tailoring.
Pursuing a course in tailoring would have been an impossibility without the financial support of Project Have Hope. Susan has gained both a skill and a confidence that helps her to navigate the future and the challenges that persist.
Much of Susan’s youth was spent rising before the sun and going to bed long after the moon had risen. Her day would start at 4am, when she would rise to head to the fields to work. She’d return home as the sun was setting and begin the time-consuming task of preparing a meal. Day after day.
At 19, a young mother herself, Susan moved to the Acholi Quarter. There, she labored in the stone quarry, often with her infant baby on her back.
When Project Have Hope began, it was a welcome relief to Susan. She could work from home with her daughter seated nearby and roll paper into beads. “It was simple work, easy work,” Susan carefreely recalls. Not only was the work easy, but she’d earn twice what she earned in the quarry. “It was a very great change for me.”
Susan later enrolled in a tailoring course through Project Have Hope’s support. From the beginning, she was thrilled with the opportunity tailoring presented. “You can expect money any day, any time,” Susan beams. “If I return to the village, I can bring my tailoring machine and work from there and earn a living. I can work anywhere.”
