Born and orphaned at birth, Janemary Nyakake grew under the care of a cruel foster mother in the little known village of Kiryatete in Hoima municipality.
So cruel was the foster mother that at the age of 10, Nyakake was thoroughly beaten leading to partial loss of hearing in one of her ears. She says it was at that point that she decided to leave home and go anywhere that she thought would be hospitable for her.
“I was about 10 when I decided that anywhere, any place, would be better. I ran away from home. I could not withstand the suffering,” Nyakake narrated.
After several months of untold suffering and misery, Nyakake’s life was bound to change.
“A compassionate stranger spotted me and adopted me. He took me in with his family and began educating me,” she said.
“By the look of things, the family was not the richest in the country but they took me in. That was not a challenge to me as long as I will live!” She said.
After successful completion of her primary education, she joined Canon Njagali Secondary school in Hoima and sat for her Uganda Certificate of Education exams in 2013 where she scored 41 aggregates.
“My sponsors expected a lot from me but I am sure they were quite disappointed with my results but they didn’t stop pushing me,” says Nyakake.
Choosing to proceed with education, she sat for her Advanced Certificate of Education Exams in 2015 at Mandela Secondary school in Hoima where she obtained 18 points out of the maximum 20points.
Armed with her certificate, the poor orphan knew her dream of becoming a graduate could come true. However, as fate would have it, life took a different turn when her guardian died under mysterious circumstances.
Nyakake says she was deeply hurt given that her sponsor was never going to enjoy the fruits of her success.
“I dreamt of becoming a nurse. I admired how they wore spotlessly clean, white coats. Just when I was beginning to map out my dream, the guardian died. It was suspected poisoning. My hopes were dimmed in one stroke of misfortune,” she added.
Nyakake resorted to doing menial jobs in the villages to make ends meet. While going through her daily work in 2015, she came across a friend who gave her a copy of Uganda Christian University programmes booklet.
Nyakake tested her life chances and applied in some orphanage and her pleas were attended to.
Mustard Seed Babies’ home conditionally offered to sponsor her university education. The orphanage secured her a place at the Mukono based University.
Nyakake was tasked with the mandate of defying odds to produce excellent academic results for as long as this sponsorship was to happen.
However, upon arrival, she was not certain of where she would be residing during her 3 year study period. University halls were not affordable considering her low-income levels.
Not knowing what to do, she approached a friend who gave her UgShs 10,000 after she had narrated her ordeal. Nyakake has fresh memories of how she slept illegally in hall on a mat for a semester and the university authorities remained unaware.
She resorted to playing seek and hide with the custodian.
“I slept on a mat in a hall illegally but knew the problems it would amount to if I ever got nabbed. I had to forge a way out in the next semester,” she recounts.
She managed to hide her troubles from her classmates. She reveals about how she always pointed at a nearby hostel each time her classmates asked her for where she was staying.
Nyakake recalls days when she would go hungry to class.
“I would freshen up, take a sweet or eat a chapati and plain water. That would take me through a few days. On a good day, I would visit a friend and eat something proper,” she narrates.
Two years down the road, Nyakake felt her dream of becoming a graduate was getting close but yet too far.
“Things became tougher despite the fact that I had moved a journey closer to attaining the degree. My savings were depleted and I was surviving by the Lord’s grace until I learnt to ‘open up’,” says Nyakake.
Within no time, her close friend took her plight to the University Students’ guild which came to her rescue through the ‘save a buddy initiative’. This is a guild initiative that seeks to help the needy.
Despite economic hardships, Janemary Nyakake’s name appeared on the list of students that graduated on 5th July, 2019.
However, she graduated as a social worker as opposed to her initial wish of emerging as a nurse.
By Marvin Twiinawe/journalist. Tell:0772061561
