Scholarship /
Situation in the country where you live / why Bradford? GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT SCHOLARSHIP IN THE UK [3]
I'm applying for a scholarship in the United Kingdom. Please advise if I have addressed the questions below in regard to the scholarship.
How has the situation in the country where you live affected you and/or your family?
Why do you want to come to Bradford to study and how will this scholarship help you achieve your goals?
Any additions and thorough reviews are highly appreciated because I'm submitting this in a few days from now. Looking forward to your responsesGrowing up with 6 siblings with no parents made experience the other side of life at an early age. When I was 5 years my father was involved in a fatal road accident that took his life on spot. He was the sole breadwinner, so my mother had to take over from that point. My mother, having earned a Certificate in Accounting she was lucky enough to get a job at one of the rural development banks as an Accountant. She took care of us with no help from anyone. Four of my eldest siblings were in boarding school and three of used to commute. It was a simple good life that we all cherished so much but it was short lived.
In late 1999 she was diagnosed with breast cancer that took her life 20th May 2001 at 10am. Days before her death she encouraged us to grab any opportunity given to us to get an education. She believed that it was one of the ways we could survive in a third world country like Uganda and make it in life. After a few years of seeing me and my siblings struggle to go through life, she was right, it hasn't been rosy at all. Before her passing on, she had lost her job but my eldest brother was just joining University. She sold her only plot of land to make sure at least 3 semesters have been paid off then she would do odd jobs to pay for the rest. The reason behind this sacrifice was to inspire us to aim higher and to us that she would to anything in her capacity. With that sacrifice she never lived to see the outcomes as she died when Martin was in second year and the rest of us in secondary school.
At 13 years of age knowing that no one is going to pay for my school fees but I had a burning desire to achieve my goal of earning a degree and making my mother proud. Me and my 2 brothers .... and ...got an opportunity to be school dependants. We would study during school term and in the holidays we would do work such as digging, harvesting, cleaning to pay for the school fees. It was hard but we made it because 2 of us got degrees and one a diploma. Being a girl and school dependant wasn't easy as I faced a lot of backlash from fellow students who had everything taken care of by their parents. I made sure that bullying did not bring me down in my academics; I studied hard to always come out top of my class, that was my weapon. Unfortunately the school had to stop the policy and we had to pack our suitcases back home were we dropped out of school for a year but we homeschooled ourselves so that we are in sync with other students who were going to school. This is the year I hated myself the most but my siblings were there to comfort me and inspire me. I received marriage proposals, offers to go work in the city as a housemaid, be a waiter but I never gave in because I knew where I wanted to be and what I wanted to achieve.
As I had given up hope of ever going back to school an opportunity presented itself, one of my uncles asked one of my Auntie to take me in because her husband had a school, so I could study from her place because as a girl with no parents one needs a guardian. At first she was hesitant but the husband finally allowed taking me in. The years I spent living at her place made me realize, everything comes at a cost. Here I was celebrating my new opportunity of going to school but I had to sacrifice so many things as a person. I was never allowed to speak to my siblings, I was always reminded of my past life (how I had to be a school dependant), according to them my prospects of making it in the future were slim though I never believed them, my good deeds were always compared to those of her kids. In a nutshell I was never good enough for them, something was always wrong with me. With all this I was persistent and never forgot the main reason I was there. During this time I managed to get a first grade in Uganda Certificate of Education and I was the best in my class.
Again it's during this period after two years when I emerged as one of the top students in the country in and won a three-year fully funded government scholarship to pursue a Bachelor's in Information Technology. I do not remember a moment in my life when I was more proud of myself than this. I had made it and I was ready for a bright future. This was a dream come true, getting high quality education at no cost and preparing to live my life the way I want with no backlash from anyone. Finally my bumpy road had ended and I was in to walk on a straight one. In all this I learnt one thing about myself, I'm not a quitter nor I will ever be. I had the options to give up and be what the forces of the world wanted me to be but I did not give in.
In June 2009, I completed my undergraduate studies and graduated in January 2010 with a first class honors in Information Technology. The future was bright for me and all people around me thought so and I did agree with them. What I did not know was living in a third world country like Uganda all this doesn't matter. You either have to know someone in a higher position or pay your way to get a job. Uncontrollable corruption, unemployment, mass intimidation, and misallocation of funds, poor infrastructure and low levels of girl child education mar Uganda. All these have affected me on a personal level and my fellow countrymen.
Uganda ranking as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, as a citizen you cannot have it easy. Most of us have come t believe it's part of us and it will never go away. We have suffered at the greedy hands of the few who only want to provide a good lifestyle for them and their families. In this country getting a government job is considered as hitting a pot a gold, it is a one-way ticket to wealth. As most youth aspire to get such jobs, they come at a cost, you either have to pay to make it to the shortlist or use backdoor to get in. Everyone is looking for the shortest route possible to make it so they end up swindling government funds at the expense of serving their fellow citizens. The first time I witnessed it is when I escorted my sister in law to a lunch meeting with a top government official. Her longtime goal was to make it to make it in the Ministry Of Public Service and she paid for it. She's earning millions now and living her life comfortably because that what it means when you work in government.
Personally I think Ugandans want to serve their country and not every government official is corrupt but the top government aides are corrupt, our parents work under such people who end up influencing them and they also do the same thing. As a country I know we have got it wrong but we need drastic measures to fight this vice. It has led to loss of lives, poor services in the sectors of health, education and infrastructure etc.
With corruption, Uganda has failed to attract foreign investors due to the fact that government officials always want kickbacks from them. This has led to high levels of unemployment because there are no new jobs being created and the few available are for the lucky few. When I finished university, I looked for a job for at least 2 years the best I could get is one that could pay me $2 a day which I gladly accepted and worked diligently to my boss's satisfaction who later raised my salary to $4. For an individual of my level of education, if I was lucky enough I could earn $1,000 per month or more but here I was.
Mass intimidation is the order of the day in this country, a case of the recently concluded Presidential elections that involved mass rigging, voter bribery and human rights violation. Army soldiers were loitering on all streets of big cities, election officials given orders on what to do, social media shutdown for at least 4 days and above all the house arrest of the main opposition leader. Freedom of speech has been hardly pressed; you cannot say anything about the current government without facing consequences in the future. Ugandans have a choice to stand up against all the above but as citizens we have decided to choose peace as many of us do not want to go back to the period when war was the order of the day.
Besides corruption, high levels of unemployment and mass intimidation, we have misallocation of funds by government to sectors that safeguard the interests of those in power. Recently the State House of Uganda received approval of 70 billion shillings supplementary budget after using all the money previously allocated to them. Meanwhile sectors like education, health and agriculture that affect the common man directly receive less than 60% of what they are supposed to get. If the health sector is funded very well, the death rate will go down. For example, my mother died because she couldn't afford the price of chemotherapy, which is essential to someone diagnosed with cancer. So she was discharged to go home and wait for her death. In an ideal world, the government should be able to provide such services to its citizens at no cost. Education should be free for everyone if the government put the attention on it, maybe I wouldn't have been a school dependant or I wouldn't have dropped out for a year with my siblings, maybe I wouldn't have lived with people who saw me as a burden.
Unlike racism and xenophobia in some countries, in Uganda we have a problem of tribalism. Our country has more than 52 tribes were each of these speak totally different languages. Tribalism is a barbaric act that is in our lives from jobs, scholarships, government tenders and many more. Everyone feels the need to put their tribes first and others second. This has led to slow progress when it comes to development in Uganda. President Museveni is not the pioneer of tribalism in this country but it's in his reign as a leader that it's so visible. All people in important positions in this country are his tribes men who in return give favors to their own.
Even though it has been a steep hill for me, to make it were I am today, everyday I count myself lucky to be able to get an education as a girl child in this country. Most of my childhood friends were married off, others whisked of to work as housemaids, teenage pregnancies and many dropped out due to poverty. Currently the rate of denying girls education is going down, before it was something that was part of our society. Educated women where considered unruly and uncontrollable by African standards. With this I joined two women focused groups that mentor girls to take up stem courses. Girl Geek Kampala and Rails Girls help teach, mentor and inspire girls to learn programming courses. As a person who has struggled to get an education I want to be a real life example to all people out there, that it's not what happens to you that matters, it's always the result hence submitting my application for this scholarship.
After reading about .......... on the web and hearing good reviews from friends I can see myself there. ............ has an astounding reputation because of its core focus on enhancing transferable skills to it's students. I would really love to be part of university with a rich history of high quality research, learning and technology but also forward thinking, modern and student oriented. The university admits a variety of international students from across the globe. It would be an unforgettable experience to meet people from various backgrounds all in one place. Being a person with no international exposure it will be a life changing experience. Attaining my postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom will help me be part of a renowned education system for it's academic excellence where quality and standard is guaranteed. Studying here will be a dream come true. United Kingdom is one of the world's economic powers and a leader when it comes to quality education. Being a scholar of Big Data Science and Technology the country has a lot to offer to students like me.
Receiving this scholarship will boost my self-confidence, knowing that I not only completed a very important task, but also took the responsibility of creating a foundation for getting me closer to my career goals. I believe in the importance of earning a postgraduate degree. Therefore, I plan to work extra hard to obtain a Master Of Science in Big Data Science and Technology by being a dedicated student to finish the course on time. The scholarship award will only push me further towards my Masters degree and my dreams of one day having a successful career as the best Data Scientist in Uganda. Being the first generation in my family to attend graduate school, I have always aspired to work with data and numbers because it has become a key sector in the world's economy. The development of products and services based on data and the analysis of data collected in companies, public entities and on social networks now helps to obtain operational indications and to identify new business opportunities.
I know that my life will completely change after winning this scholarship. It will help me develop into the person I have always wanted to be, and aid in the pursuit towards achieving my goals. With the collaboration between my persistence, hard work and dedication, I know that I will be able to reach my full potential and be the best person I can be.