Ashraf - What an Opportunity Education has Afforded

Please consider helping us provide an education for impoverished children like Ashraf.  There are so many Ashrafs out there – smart children with leadership potential who will change their world for good.

“My name is Ashraf. I am 19 years old. I am a Computer Science student. I live in Katwe. I have lived here all my life. I was probably born here. My mother too lives in Katwe with my younger half-siblings. I am her eldest child. My real father and I have never been close. It’s a long time since I last saw or talked to him. I do not know whether he is still alive. The father I knew (step dad) passed away.

Our life has been a constant struggle. Growing up in the slums of Katwe, we never had enough to live by. Thankfully, when I was younger, my mother worked for a food vendor. We were assured of a meal a day. She would carry home the left-over food from her work. But when she lost that job, life got a lot more complicated. Even then, school was out of reach. And proof of that is that my mother’s younger children are not able to attend school.

Luckily for me, I joined SOM. I joined at the very start (that is about 2006). Because I was too young to play soccer, I joined Coach Samson who played with little children my age. Soon afterwards I was enrolled for the lunch porridge. That was an upgrade - the porridge was hot when it was served. I was not used to hot food. Then one day, the coaches visited my home. They asked for my last school report card. I was too short to reach it so I asked my mom to pick it for me. They then spoke to my mother for what seemed like forever. When she returned to the house where I was half-hidden, she was all smiles! They offered me an opportunity to attend school!

I currently volunteer at the SOM Chess Academy and want to be a Computer Programmer and change my future and that of other children like me. I am also a young Christian. Thank you Sports Outreach for the opportunity.”