EDUCATION FOR LIFE

Dreams color our lives. This is the premise that guided thirty girls who, with great enthusiasm, put themselves to the test in a totally new experience.

Some of them are familiar with the headquarters of the Comboni Samaritans of Gulu, Good Samaritan’s local partners, but this time, instead of just passing through, they stayed for three intense but incredible days.

Together with the educators, the girls immediately got to work addressing various topics such as self-knowledge, the time of adolescence, and understanding all those changes that can sometimes be confusing, but which are important to hold and value for healthy growth.

A look at their family, the context in which they live, their roots, and their religious values ​​helped them understand this moment of growth with greater awareness. All accompanied by music, dance, and creative moments, such as bead making or watching films, to make the experience truly complete. Beauty educates and amazes.

Rose, a young girl, closed the training days with a beautiful speech because, from the very first day, she was chosen as the group’s representative. Rose is a total orphan and lives with her grandmother in miserable conditions, which is why she was placed in a boarding school. She is paralyzed in her lower atria and moves around thanks to a wheelchair. She is a simple, bright, sunny, communicative and very responsible girl. During these training days, she shared her dreams for the future: when she grows up, she wants to become a member of parliament to advance the cause of people with disabilities living in Uganda.

In her speech, she thanked the educators of the school department, who organized and led the activities. She urged the department to offer these training days again in order to reach as many girls as possible; she and the other participants will commit in sharing this experience with friends and family because what they have learned is truly precious. She concluded: “I’ve lived with my grandmother for a long time. When I returned home from school for the holidays, I asked her, ‘Where is my home?’ The teachers at the boarding school kept telling me I had to go home, but where is my home? My grandmother replied, ‘Rose, your home is at Good Samaritan.’ Until now, however, I had never been able to return to this house due to transportation issues. So, for me, this experience was very emotional because, for the first time, I saw where my home is, I know where my heart and my hopes belong, and I’m very happy and proud.”

The girls who participated in the training showed us a true and clear reflection of what the new generations dream of. We saw openness, willingness, and a desire to get to know each other better. We are confident that these three days have had and will continue to have a positive impact on their lives; they live in extremely fragile contexts and are at high risk: choosing the wrong path is very easy and convenient. But we’ve made ourselves available to become role models who can help them navigate their life choices.

Here, in addition to finding a home, they’ve found people who care for them.

The journey to realizing their dreams has just begun. It’s up to us, educators and supporters, to pave the way, to help the girls to orient themselves and stay on track.