Before you hear her tell story, from a mile away, you will think that Dora is a spoilt rich girl who is being baby sat by her rich daddy. She’s got everything # going well for her but who knew that that little story about appearances being deceiving can actually apply in real life.
Dear Campus Bee,
My name is Dora and I pay my own tuition. Sharing my story is one of the hardest things any girl of my age would do and I am not proud of it. I was orphaned at the age of 19 in my vacation and that kind of loss tore me apart. At that time I was looking forward to starting my dreams; to join campus and look forward to building a career. I wanted to be a doctor and fortunately for me, I am currently pursuing a medicine degree. I must say I have been lucky to be an intelligent student but at this point I know that my intelligence may not matter after all that the death of my parents has made of me and since I am a changed person I must reintroduce myself.
My name is Dora and I am 23years about to graduate. I am academically intelligent because my grades are always good or excellent. I am a very friendly person, I have lots of friends but none of them knows that I am an orphan or that I pay my own tuition. When my parents died and my relatives thought it wise that I should not continue with my education, I was so disappointed because I had been accepted at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to do a medicine degree and quitting was not an option.
So I sold my self to the first man who offered to pay my semester tuition. The idea was that I become his mistress and yet this man is my own uncle. Yes! I slept with my uncle so that I can go to medical school but that is not the point, the point is that that’s how I started and now I know I can’t stop. It all started with going to medical school, then it became hostel fees, my nails, nice clothes, my hair, up keep, a nice phone, a fridge, gas, a system, a flat screen television and now it’s all about keeping up appearances. Now it’s no longer my uncle because it is just about anyone who can give me money. I feel like a slut and this is taking its toll on me because it’s like an addiction. I love medicine and money and I will do almost anything to finish my degree.
I actually have two jobs, I wait at tables and I sell clothes in a boutique but that money can’t even complete my tuition. I work so hard at my jobs and often times I volunteer to work the late night shifts which is very risky but then I know that sleeping around is more risky because one day I could wake up HIV Positive. I only sleep two hours a day because if am not working or sleeping around for money, then am reading for my medicine degree. I always feel pathetic for all the choices I have made but I see where I am now and it’s hard to believe I have even gotten this far. In spite of my situation, I have never heard a retake knocking at my door and that is not because I sleep with my lecturers as most of you are thinking. I have never crossed that line because my degree means a lot to me and truth is I am intelligent.
What actually bothers me is how I see those people who have got it all together, and they actually have someone well-meaning to pay for their education and needs waste such opportunities. I see people party all the time, they are drunks, and throw money away wastefully and yet they don’t even work for half of it. People throw away their education and degrees because of their unlimited access to retakes and yet life has handed them opportunities on a silver platter. I may not be any better than them but this experience at campus has taught me how to be a hustler and still hold my goals up high on the same pole and trust me, LIFE IS NOT A SILVER POLE!!!
As told to Angella Kizito
