Rachael - “My dream is midwifery. And I now believe I can make it”.

“My dream is midwifery. And I now believe I can make it”.

These are the words of a confident 17-year-old girl. However, this calm and assured demeanor belies a painful and difficult childhood. Rachael was abandoned at three months by her own mother at a garbage dump. The underage mother was not only done with the irresponsible father, she was done with all memories of her painful past – Rachael was deemed a memory to forget. Luckily, or rather providentially, she was picked by a passerby who knew her father. Unfortunately, the drunken, in-and-out-of-jail father could be of scarce help to the malnourished baby. Someone offered to take the baby to her mother.

Rachael’s grandmother intervened and volunteered to raise her granddaughter. She has since been her guardian angel. The old, destitute woman from Katwe slum has singlehandedly raised the now teenage girl.

“Grandma believes that the only escape from poverty is education,” Rachael says. “But she doesn’t have means. She doesn’t want me to end up like my father.”

Having been to church in her early years, she turned her back on God after hitting adolescence. She soon joined a karaoke group that performed in night clubs for a few thousand shillings. But SOM Coach Richard ,who lives in her neighborhood ,would always find time to speak to her. He assured her that there was hope if she chose a different path. At first she wasn’t interested in chess and only came to the center at Grandma’s insistence. However, she was overwhelmed by the love, care and concern she received when she first joined the SOM Chess Academy. She made new friends. Her life took a complete turn, for the better; she gave her life to Christ!  Soon she was back in school and has now completed her Uganda Certificate of Education.

“There is life at the Center,” she concludes. She prays that her 3 half-siblings in Mbarara (South Western Uganda) can have the same opportunities she has had.