Ssenkaali Godfrey, the recipient of the first Quench and Connect university scholarship graduated from Uganda Martyrs University last November with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethics and Development Studies. As you can see from his commencement photo, he was extremely happy to have attained his goal. This term, he is now serving as a ‘Quench and Connect Graduate Fellow’ back at his high school Gayaza Cambridge College of St. Mbaaga, assisting teachers and being an on-campus ‘role model’ for the students there, while he looks for a job. (Yes, new graduates struggle to find their first jobs in Uganda just as they do here in the U.S.!). Godfrey’s parents died when he was in sixth grade so he dropped out of school to help his grand-father take care of five siblings, living in a poor village in the Rakai district. He was in and out of elementary school, while he worked carrying heavy matooke (bananas) boughs into town to sell in exchange for food and fish to feed the family. Despite this, he managed to finish elementary school, and was accepted into an excellent high school in Gayaza. A generous sponsor, Kabiswa Charles, supported his fees for high school. But in the first year, Godfrey’s grandfather died, leaving Godfrey as primary supporter of his brothers and sisters. He again was in and out of school, working many different odd jobs, but finally finished high school scoring very high on the national exams. After that he went back to the village and worked, but always dreamed of going to university one day. After some time, Quench and Connect learned of this promising student and awarded him our first university scholarship, donated by one of our donors. When he enrolled at Uganda Martyrs University outside Kampala, he had never even touched a computer. He had to spend many, many hours in the computer lab trying to catch up, and he endured many hours of down time during power brown-outs in the evenings. But with hard work, he succeeded, learned to use the computer, improved his English and ultimately scored well above the mark required to keep his scholarship. Please join us in congratulating Ssenkaali Godfrey for this great accomplishment. He plans to work for a non-governmental organization to speed the development of his country.