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Lungala Education Centre
This story is about a young woman who made a choice – a powerful one that would not only change her life but the lives of countless children in Uganda!
Its seed was planted when young Kalema Hasifa, at age 16, stood at a crossroads familiar to too many of Africa’s daughters: the agonizing choice to abandon her final two years of education and go to work so her siblings could continue theirs or to persevere and complete her education to hope for a better future. Through divine providence, her mother’s wisdom prevailed, insisting she consult her Aunt Jackie, a store manager at the company, UNILEVER, before making such a monumental decision.
With the sharp clarity that comes from hard-won experience, Aunt Jackie, seeing the gifts that Kalema possessed, illuminated two paths: the crushing limitations that follow abandoning her education, or the expansive possibilities that bloom from perseverance and patience. Aunt Jackie sealed her counsel with a promise to Kalema – complete your studies and employment would follow.
Almost all of her former classmates dropped out and struggled to earn a good living without completing school; Kalema’s completion of high school opened doors. At age 18, as Aunt Jackie said, she secured employment in a public health outreach, distributing condoms to pharmacies and local shops during the day while conducting vital education about the preventional measures of HIV and AIDS in many community bars in the evening. Her excellence in her education and persuasion led to her moving into mobile phone sales within the same conglomerate, where she distinguished herself and was given the task of training male colleagues, but never given a promotion. She found herself confined by the glass ceiling that too often restrains our ambitious Ugandan women.
Rather than accept such limitations, she channeled her frustration into vision. Drawing upon her extensive travels throughout East Africa in her sales job, she established Great Expeditions in 2013. This enterprise showcases East Africa’s national treasures – from the majestic gorillas of our forests to the rich heritage of our indigenous peoples like the Batwe,Turkana, Karamojong and Baganda or beautiful hikes up the Kilimanjaro and Rwenzori mountains.
But the true measure of success lies not in personal achievement alone, but in lifting others as you rise. Kalema never forgot what education meant to her life. She dedicated a majority portion of her enterprise’s success to supporting underprivileged children’s education. After careful deliberation about maximizing impact, she concentrated these resources into establishing the Lungala Educational Centre, a private completely self-funded primary school, focusing on the Lungala community. This community had no nearby primary school, so parents didn’t send their children to school, perpetuating the poverty within the community.
Isn’t it amazing how one decision, one choice to stay in school, created a ripple effect that’s now changing the lives of children in Uganda? This is the power of education! This is the power of believing in yourself and others’ potential.
If you want to be a part of perpetuating this success, you can. Book a tour with Great Expedition, volunteer at the school, or donate to the facilities or individual children.
