Testimony by Euton Gordon following his trip to Uganda in February 2007

I first heard about UgandAid in 2003 and immediately decided to get involved. The training at NVI would be teaching the students skills for life, enabling them to get work and support their siblings. I signed up to sponsor a student and was paired with Anywar Richard.

Earlier this year I fulfilled the promise I made to myself of going over to Uganda with a UgandAid team on a short term mission. This gave me a chance to see and experience the country firsthand. In addition I would be able to meet Richard, who had graduated the previous December but was still living in the area.

The visit to Uganda put the situation for students like Richard into context. Primary school there is free up until the age of 12, or the first 5 years depending on when the family can release the child. However the family is required to pay for a school uniform and books, pencils, rubbers etc. At age 13+ children who continue in education go to fee-paying boarding schools.  School fees and in some cases uniforms and books are beyond the means of a many Ugandans. Richard was orphaned by the war in the north of the country so sponsored vocational training through NVI was his best hope of making something of his life. The cost of sponsoring a student via UgandAid, at £39/month, is similar to a Sky TV subscription or mobile phone contract. However in Uganda this pays for board, lodging and tuition and the necessary tools and equipment for the students during their course and their own personal tool kit when they graduate.

It was great to catch-up with Richard and be able to congratulate him in person for graduating from his 3 year course and obtaining employment. He was very friendly and grateful for the support through the course. I felt overwhelmed and slightly embarrassed at his gratitude. What meant so much to him cost me relatively little.

He suggested that we take a picture in the new Mechanics Facility at NVI, where he had helped to install the electrical fixtures. The opening of the Mechanics Facility, built and equipped with money raised by UgandAid, was one of the highlights of the visit.

It’s amazing how sponsorship schemes like UgandAid can impact and transform a person’s life chances, and meeting Richard made that very clear to me Having decided to sponsor another student, I was also able to meet her.  Aguti Mary has just started her course in Catering & Hotel Management, and has real hope for the future now.