Harriet’s Journey: From Hardship to Hope – A Story of Courage and Vision

Harriet’s journey is a powerful reminder of what happens when determination meets opportunity.

Her father passed away when she and her siblings were still young, leaving them with an unemployed mother who did casual work to support the family. Despite these challenges, Harriet completed her O-Levels in 2008, and with her mother’s encouragement, she went on to complete her A-Levels in 2010. But after finishing, she could not access funds to continue her studies and found herself stuck at home.

To support herself and her family, she took a part-time job as a stationery shop attendant. During this period, she got engaged and, in 2016 and 2018, gave birth to her two children. Unfortunately the relationship didn't work out, and in 2020, her partner abandoned her, leaving Harriet to navigate life as a single mother.

Life became an uphill struggle. She tried starting a small retail shop in 2021, but it didn’t succeed due to lack of capital. Her children needed schooling and basic necessities, and Harriet had to find a way to provide for them. She then got employed as a housemaid earning just £25 a month. While she persisted, the income was barely enough to cover her children’s needs, her mother, and herself.

Amid these challenges, Harriet received counselling and guidance from Youth With A Vision. We encouraged her to reconnect with her education. At first, she hesitated—balancing school, motherhood, and responsibilities felt overwhelming. But with continued support and encouragement, she decided to take the leap.

Harriet’s lifelong dream was to become a nurse. In 2023, with support from Youth With A Vision, she enrolled in a two-and-a-half-year nursing course. Her determination and focus carried her through the program, and in June 2025, she graduated with a Certificate in Nursing.

Today, Harriet proudly says; ''my greatest achievement is having a profession and becoming a nurse—a dream I once thought impossible given my setbacks. I now have a stable income, enough to support my children, my mother, and myself''.

She is deeply grateful to Youth With A Vision for understanding her journey and supporting her milestone. But Harriet’s journey doesn’t end here.

''My ambition is to continue growing in my profession and, one day, to reach out and touch the life of another person, passing forward the hope and opportunities I have received''.

Harriet’s story is a testament to resilience, courage, and the transformative power of opportunity. It shows that when women are empowered, they not only change their own lives—they create brighter futures for their families and communities.

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate women like Harriet—women of vision, perseverance, and hope.

You can be part of this change. Your support helps women like Harriet reconnect with education, build careers, and transform their lives.

Stand with us today and help more women reach their dream.

Sponsor a child today. https://www.youthwithavision.info/sponsor-a-child

Click here to become a monthly donor.

Sponsor another nurse. Sponsor Alice Martha

Elizabeth’s Story: A Little Girl Waiting for the Chance to Go to School

Elizabeth is a gentle and quiet little girl living with her grandmother in a small rented home in Masaka. She enjoys being around other children and, like every child, she dreams of going to school, making friends, and learning about the world around her.

But Elizabeth’s life has not been easy.

When Elizabeth’s mother was only 13 years old, she experienced a traumatic assault while returning from collecting water after school. The incident changed the course of her life. She became pregnant and was unable to continue her education. The person responsible was never identified.

Today, Elizabeth’s mother survives through occasional casual work, but the income is very small and unstable. Some days she finds work, and some days there is no work at all.

Because of these difficult circumstances, Elizabeth now lives with her grandmother, who also depends on small casual jobs to try and support the family. Sadly, the little income they earn is not enough to cover basic needs, including school costs.

While many children have already returned to school this term, Elizabeth is still at home waiting. She watches other children walk to school each morning, hoping that one day she too will have the chance to sit in a classroom, learn to read and write, and build a better future.

Despite these challenges, Elizabeth remains hopeful. She is a bright young girl who loves learning and enjoys being around other children.

At Youth With A Vision, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to go to school and pursue their dreams. Through child sponsorship, caring supporters can help provide school fees, uniforms, books, school meals, and other learning materials that make education possible.

A sponsor could help open the door for Elizabeth to return to school and begin building the future she deserves.

Could you be the one to give Elizabeth this chance?

You can sponsor Elizabeth today through this PayPal link:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=G2KL2R84TE4HL

If you feel called to help but would prefer to support another child, you can also see the other children who are still waiting for a sponsor here:https://www.youthwithavision.info/sponsor-a-child

Your support could change the direction of Elizabeth’s life and give her the opportunity every child deserves — the chance to learn.

Marvin needs a sponsor

Date-of-Birth: 13th October 2016

I want you to meet Marvin Kisaakye one of the youngest children under our support. Marvin is an 8-year-old happy and active boy. His mother developed depression immediately after the death of a sibling that Marvin could have followed. 

The depression escalated, and during this period she got pregnant with an unknown man. In 2016 she gave birth to a boy whom she named Kisaakye meaning ‘’God’s Grace’’ Sadly

shortly after Marvin’s birth, his mother’s depression developed into a recurring mental disorder. And this is because there was no one caring by then. She started wandering villages, walking longer distances while assaulting people destroying property at her exposure and torturing and starving Marvin. She was eventually reported to the local authorities who intervened and rescued Marvin into our foster care in 2017. When Marvin came to Youth With A Vision, he was just one year old, and his speech had not yet developed. Very often we could only rely on our guesswork to determine whether he could be hungry or angry or sick. Worse, he was weird, dirty, passive and malnourished with pale eyes, brownish hair, a swollen stomach and a poor health state. We placed Marvin in our Kayirikiti foster family and offered him a loving new home comprising of a father, mother, sisters and brothers. We took good care of Marvin, nurtured, nursed and dewormed him, fed him so well and taught him social habits. He got back on track. Marvin is now accessing education but the challenge is that Marvin is missing someone to sponsor him. Due to our limited resources, we find it difficult to support Marvin to access education and the necessities of life.

Please sponsor Marvin, for £24 a month or £288 a year for tuition and stationery, you can help Marvin attend School, and acquire an education to start breaking the cycle of poverty.

Click on this link to sign up to sponsor Marvin now with your PayPal account, credit or debit card.

https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWJAZMSRPFVXJ