The Ripple Effect of Sponsorship
Eritien's story is a powerful reminder of the life-changing impact that education, coupled with hope in Christ, can have on an individual—and ultimately on an entire community.
Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritien was forced to flee his homeland because of political instability, civil war and poverty. In 2015, at just fifteen years old, he arrived as a refugee at the Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in Kamwenge District, Uganda, carrying the uncertainty and hardship that so many displaced children face.
Sue with Eritien at Alpha Omega school in 2023.
At that time, Pastor Moses was regularly visiting the refugee settlement. During one of those visits, he met Eritien, and a new chapter in his life began. In 2016, at the age of sixteen, Eritien was enrolled in Senior 1, the first year of high school at Alpha Omega Secondary School in Kiburara through sponsorship support. He is a hard-working dedicated student and over the next six years, faithful sponsors enabled him to complete his secondary education. We saw his potential and determination and several friends of TCI continued to invest in his future by sponsoring his university education in 2023. Because of their generosity, Eritien recently graduated with a degree in Information Technology.
He has a deep love for Alpha Omega School and often returns to visit the teachers who had walked alongside him during those formative years. During one visit, he discovered they used a manual attendance book to record daily student attendance, so he developed a mobile App for the school that allows them to track student attendance and enable teachers to register their daily lesson logs. A few days ago, he presented this to Ubaldo, the head teacher, and shared a dream that has been growing in his heart:
He longs to return to his home region in Congo - to Kibumba the village where he grew up and another village, Bunagana. He told us that his desire is simply to give back to his people by bringing HOPE - specifically to fatherless children, many of whom have lost parents due to war. He remembers how hopeless he was before being displaced to Uganda. His own journey through years of conflict and instability is a testimony to the hope he found in God. It was that hope, together with the love and support of others, that sustained him and enabled him to get the education that he thought was an impossibilty.
To those who made this possible, he writes, "I highly appreciate anyone who contributed towards my education......May God bless you highly. I have no way I can express myself to you all - only God knows what is in my heart." He is busy writing a proposal outlining his plans to return despite the current Ebola threat and the war!
As we spoke to Eritien today, we marvelled at how Eritien's story beautifully illustrates the ripple effect of sponsorship which has always been TCI's vision. One young refugee was given an opportunity, and now he is returning to his own people to share the hope that transformed his life. As that hope takes root, it has the potential to inspire future generations to dream, to learn, and to pursue new possibilities for themselves and their communities.
By Sue Robb