Vid mitt andra besök på Bristol Academy var det Cissy som klev in i mitt hjärta. En tonårstjej som offrade all sin lediga tid för att ta hand om de yngre barnen på skolan. Hon var som en vuxen kvinna, men ändå inte. Hon tog ett så stort ansvar och skötte så många arbetsuppgifter på skolan. Jag började prata med henne och förstod att allt arbete hon utförde gjorde hon för att få sin dröm uppfylld. Drömmen om att alla hennes tre yngre syskon skulle få studera. Men att studerar kostar pengar i Uganda och detta var något Cissy inte ägde. Om hon visade sig vara tillräckligt behjälplig på skolan, så kanske hon skulle våga fråga Eddie om hjälp än en gång. Hon hade redan frågat om hennes bror Emmanuel fick lov att börja på Bristol Academy. Givetvis hade Eddie tagit Emmanuel till skolan och betalat för hans studier och uppehälle.

                        Min vän Cissy till vänster med sin lillebror!

Jag hann med många samtal med Cissy under mitt besök på Bristol Academy. Under ett av samtalen berättade hon delar av sin livshistoria. När jag kom hem bestämde jag mig för att hjälpa Cissy att få sin dröm uppfylld. Nu studerar alla fyra syskonen.

Jag har bett Cissy skriva om sin barndom och här kommer hennes berättelse… skriven med hennes egna ord.

My life story

I am Imalyong Cissy, a girl of 18 years old. My parents are Mr. and Miss Okolimong.

I have both my parents, but unfortunately they divorced in 2000 after they have given birth to four children.

After my mother left, my father married another woman and that was the beginning of my suffering by then I was just seven years old and I had not started going to school. Our father changed his behaviors; he even refused to take us to school. He told me that I would never go to school because I had to remain home to do the house work. I saw that this was too hard for me, I decided to run away from home. I went to my mother. I started schooling from there.

When I reached in primary five, I decided to come back to my father and meet my young brother. Still my father not loved me and sent me away from home. That was in 2004. I went to some ones home and started working as a house girl. I worked there for while and I came back to my father in 2005. I bought things that I needed like clothes for me and my two sisters.

Life was hard for me, but in 2006 my aunt from Kampala came to see us and found that we were not going to school. She took me along with her to Kampala. I started going to school again.

The only problem we had was that our father never listens to us, but when I came to Kampala everything changed, mostly when I went joined Bristol Academy.

I failed the interview and I was put in primary four. I started from there and now am have just ended secondary two, but before I reached in secondary I faced a lot of challenges. Time came and my aunt started mistreating me, I decided to join the brass band at Bristol Academy and Mr. Eddie did not refuse me. I had told him about my problems in terms of school fees payments. He paid for my fees from primary six in 2008.

He has helped me up to where I am now. I thank god who helped me and I met Eddie, because if it wasn’t him I would have lost my studies because  my aunt had got tired of paying for me. I got inspired when I joined Bristol Academy where I meet Mr. Eddie.

I have never got the love I deserve in my life because I have spent the whole of my life without my parents, my mother is very far away from me. I have never got parent care and even happiness deep in my heart.

Let me take this opportunity to thank Mr. Eddie who have helped me to reach where I am and I have hope that with his support I will reach and achieve more. I also pray to god so that Eddie can last and may god also bless him because if it was not him, I would have lost my education forever.

Thanks you very much Mr. Eddie, god bless you!

I remain

Imalyong Cissy

                    
                                             Victoria