MBARARA, February 20, 2024 – Letshego Uganda has handed a cheque worth 20 million to Maryhill High School in Mbarara City to sponsor a vulnerable girl who scored 4 aggregates in last year’s Primary Leaving Examinations [PLE].
Born to Leo Byaruhanga and Immaculate Komugisha, Fortunate Atuhairwe did her PLE at Kyabuharambo Primary School in Buhweju district where she emerged as the best candidate. The school runs under the Universal Primary Programme [UPE].
Speaking at the recent function to ward Atuhairwe the education bursary, Dennis Mbiika, Head of Business Letshego Uganda, a financial services provider, commended her for beating candidates in urban areas despite studying in rural Buhweju district, which is also a hard-to-reach area.
For his part, Letshego CEO, Giles Aijukwe said the Shs 20mln will fund the girl’s education for four years at Maryhill High School, one of the best schools in western Uganda.
“The education bursary awarded to Fortunate Atuhairwe comprehensively covers her tuition at Maryhill High school from Senior 1 to Senior 4. This support aims to alleviate the financial burden on Fortune’s family and empower her to pursue her academic aspirations of becoming a doctor without any hindrance,” Aijukwe said.
He said that Letshego’s support to the girl-child is part of the community social responsibility [CSR] to address pressing social and environmental challenges, contributing to the overall well-being of society.
“Education is a powerful tool that breaks the cycle of poverty by opening doors to a bright future” he said adding that, Investing in education does not only impacts individuals but also benefits communities at a large scale by creating a ripple effect of positive change” Aijukwe noted.
On his part, Francis Mwijukye, the Member of Parliament for Buhweju County appealed to the government to give more support to the rural schools so that they can perform better.
“I usually tell young children that the formula for success is hard work, determination and God’s grace but they can only do that when the government has also supported the schools with scholastic materials, good teachers, classroom blocks and the rest. So Atuhairwe, these people [Maryhill High School] have all your school fees for four years so go and do more wonders,” said Mwijukye.
Sr Sarah Tumuhimbise, the Headmistress Maryhill lauded Letshego for sponsoring Atuhairwe, encouraging the rural girl to continue reading hard as she joins O’level.
“I want to congratulate Fortunate Atuhaire for getting a scholarship from Lethogo Uganda and we want to encourage her to study well because God has allowed her to join her dream school,” she said.
The mother Atuhairwe, Komugisha, said she was astonished by her daughter’s good performance in PLE. She also appealed to other well-wishers to render her more support to educate Atuhairwe’s siblings.
“I want to first thank God for enabling my child to get four aggregates. I have five children and I am requesting if there are other well-wishers, they can get me more support because I cannot afford to educate my other children,” Komugisha appealed.
Meanwhile, Atuhairwe could not hide her pride. She thanked everybody who supported her and pledged to thrive in school until her dream of becoming a doctor comes true.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me because today I have been brought to a school that I have been working for. My target is now to get eight aggregates at Senior 4 and continue studying until I become a doctor in future,” she said.
Maryhill High School is a girls’ school affiliated to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mbarara. It was started in 1961 with the aim of promoting the education of the girl child to build the nation.
Currently, it has an enrolment of about 1500 students. And in the Uganda Certification of Education [UCE] 2023 results, it was ranked the best performing school in western Uganda with 254 candidates out of a total of 263 passing in Division I while the rest passed in Division II.
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