Derek's University Degree

Hi - James Nicky and Janne here! We are raising money to put Derek, a 28 year old Ugandan charity worker, through his degree in Business Information and Communications Technology at Mount Kigali University, Rwanda. But why are we trying to help him? And why are we asking you to help support him too?

Derek and his six siblings experienced alcoholism and domestic violence from a young age, and when his parents left them Derek, as the eldest, took responsibility for them all and worked in the fields in exchange for food. He spent periods of his childhood living on the streets and foraging amongst the rubbish for food and clothes, and at 11 years old he started to hustle his way through school by exchanging manual labour in the school grounds to pay the school fees. His malnourishment meant he developed stomach ulcers, which still affect him today, yet despite all these struggles Derek graduated from high school with top grades and received a scholarship from a UK charity to study for a diploma in Information Technology. When he graduated, he started looking for work and the prospects of a great career lay ahead of him, however instead of chasing his own dream he chose to help local orphans and street children whose situations resonated with him having been there himself not long ago.

Over a short time, he and a group of people he was working with were responsible for over 100 children, providing their food, education and basic needs. For the majority of Derek’s 20’s, a decade of life synonymous with personal development, Derek has been placing the needs of orphan children ahead of his own, and at 28 it’s time for Derek to put himself first. All of the children he cares for are now being looked after by various people and organisations, so Derek has an opportunity to study for 3 years in Kigali in neighbouring Rwanda, to progress his diploma into a bachelor’s degree, to set him up for his next chapter in life.

We met Derek when he climbed Kilimanjaro with us in summer 2023 to raise money for the charity who originally funded his scholarship for his diploma (the incredible Rafiki Thabo Foundation) and it hit us hard to see how selfless Derek was in always putting the needs of the orphans ahead of his own, and how much Derek had achieved in his life despite growing up literally having to feed himself off rubbish dumps. We know that whatever Derek does with this degree will not just benefit him, but will benefit his community and the many, many more people he will undoubtedly go on to help.

Each semester costs £200 in tuition fees, so the cost of his degree spread over 8 semesters is £1600.

His accommodation and living expenses will cost around £900 per semester, so £7200 in total.

And we are aiming to raise around £1200 for equipment he needs, like a decent computer and other study materials.

Derek will look for part time work around his studies for his personal expenditure, but we want to be able to sponsor his degree and all of its associated costs so he knows he can focus on studying for the next 3 years without the need to hustle for his fees, like he has done so often before.

We are paying the university directly, and are in daily chats with Derek about the course so we can see how he is progressing.

Any donations are truly well received, and as this is going direct to the University you can know that this is a really impactful way of direct giving, which is very effective in the charity / donor space.

Thank you,

James Nicky and Janne X