When Acan Brenda selected her course of study, she knew immediately that she wanted to be a social worker. The chance to “work hand in hand” with her local community? Sounds like a winning idea.
Brenda, a graduate of the Legacy Scholarship Program (LSP), completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda in 2014. One of the challenges with Uganda’s university system is that transcript delivery remains a particularly inefficient process. Thus, as of late June, Brenda is still waiting for the release of her final transcript.
However, Brenda does not let that get her down. Even if she is unable to share her transcript, and consequently apply for social work jobs, she is keeping busy helping in a restaurant run by her family. This attitude characterizes many LSP graduates who, like Brenda, use their networks to seek out business opportunities while they look for more permanent employment.
Acan Brenda, a 2014 graduate from the Legacy Scholarship Program, visits the Invisible Children office in Gulu, Uganda.
Brenda already knows what she wants from her next role. She chose to study social work because the need is very high in post-conflict northern Uganda. She has found that many non-profit organizations regularly look for social workers and administrators to join their staff, giving her hope for her employment options.
When asked what type of opportunities she is looking to pursue more specifically, Brenda confidently answered, “I need to work with women. That is what I am passionate about.”
It may seem as though many organization in northern Uganda are working to empower women, but the need remains especially great.
Brenda said she had no hope for the future of her studies until joining the Invisible Children (IC) scholarship scheme in 2009.
“IC helped me by giving me the support to pursue my professional course. So I am so grateful to them and pray that things go well and that a person like me, who might have been out there idle and stranded without hope of getting an education, can,” she said.
Brenda and her team members during a roadie tour in the United States.
Part of what encourages Brenda is the spirit of generosity she witnessed while on tour in the United States as a Roadie with Invisible Children. She participated in two tours in 2011, touring the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast. She was particularly impacted by a middle school student who asked if he could donate his lunch money to Invisible Children following a film screening.
“I was so touched that this young kid could think of being so generous. [As a social worker], I will be able to give what I have learned back to my community by empowering them and sensitizing them with things they don’t know,” she said.
Without her scholarship, and subsequent experience on tour, Brenda says she might not have realized how generous people around the world can be. It is her hope that she and others can do the same and give back to their own communities.
“Because they gave me the scholarship, in turn I should also be able to give something back to my community,” she said. “[LSP mentor Richard Mark] said pick a child or your relative and put him or her in school so the chain continues. That is what I’m looking forward to doing.”
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