Calebu – his story

Hello, my name is Calebu and I am 10 years old. I live with my mum in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

My mum tells me that primary education is supposed to be free in my country. But the government schools have great big classes with even as many as 60 children in a class. There are lots of “privately run” schools with smaller classes, but, because the government doesn’t help them, they have to charge school fees.

I go to the “Learning Joy” school just around the corner from where I live. The school doesn’t charge too much, even to the parents with money. As I don’t have a dad, my mother only has to pay a small amount each term to the school.

Last year, I came top in Mathematics and English, which pleased my mother very much, and I had a special treat that day for tea! My teacher says, “You should go far!”, but she is worried about what school I will go to next.

When I am 11, I will have to leave the “Learning Joy” primary school and go to a secondary school – if I can. Many children stop going to school then, as their parents can’t pay the extra money.

Recently, my mum went along to see the headmistress of my school for a talk. “Calebu is a bright child,” the head-teacher had said, “We must try to get him into a good secondary school”. My mother came home crying, because she can’t afford to send me to any secondary school – they all charge too much.

On Sundays, I go with my mum to a local church where we have great fun singing and learning about the Bible. My mother talked to the pastor and he said that the church didn’t have any money to help, but that there is an overseas organisation who might be able to help.

That week, we went along to the pastor’s house and I had to have my photograph taken. The pastor said he would post this off, and we would have to wait and see what would happen. Before leaving, we prayed together that a sponsor would be found and that I would be able to carry on going to school. Every night, for the past few weeks, my mum and I have prayed, “Please Lord, find me somebody who will sponsor me.”

Karuna Action, Educational Sponsorship scheme.

We have many boys and girls, just like Calebu, awaiting sponsorship. We run a very simple scheme, that aims to ensure that children are able to finish their schooling and achieve their full potential.

The scheme costs just £15 a month. You can find out more by visiting www.karunaAction/child-sponsorship. You can specify the country you wish to sponsor a child from. If you like, you can select whether you want to support a boy, or a girl, and you can even pay the 1st month sponsorship on-line. Karuna Action will then contact you and make arrangements for paying future months, for example by bankers order.

Don’t keep Calebu waiting. Sponsor a child like him today!

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