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- Agnes, 2021
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- Agnes, today
“My journey was not easy, but ATE held my hand. Today, I wear the green uniform of nursing training college with pride. Thank you for making my dreams reality”
Through her teens, Agnes was student in term time and a kayeye street girl in the holidays. She travelled south and worked from 4am everyday selling meat pies on the side of the road, to return to Biro every September with a pair of sandals and a dream of something better for her future.
She was actually one of the luckier ones, because we were providing a hot school lunch, educational materials and period products to pupils at her school. Children could study on full stomachs and in dignity. It made all the difference. When we began work with Biro Junior High in 2018, there were just 12 pupils – today, there are 63!
When Byron Wigglesworth interviewed Agnes in 2021, he asked her what she wanted to become, ‘I will be a nurse’ she beamed, looking down at her sandals. Her quiet confidence shone through. From a community where almost nobody before her had made it to tertiary education, she knew exactly what she wanted for herself – against all odds.
Agnes has been determined to succeed, and she’s done it. With our sup[por, she was able to attend senior high school. And today, her dream has come true. She’s training to be a nurse.
We are hugely inspired by her, this incredibly young woman who is forging her own path. We’re proud to be part of her journey.
Her story from 2021 is moving and beautifully written by Byron Wigglesworth, and can be read here.