sponsored students: nicky and eddie

You may have read about Nicholas (Nicky) before. He’s one of the children I met very early on in 2006 and whose fantastic artwork has been featured on my blog in the past. I have always had a particularly soft spot in my heart for this gentle, caring, funny, artistic young man.

Nicky is 15. He’s been at the orphanage since 2005. Both of his parents were killed by LRA rebels during the civil war in the northern part of Uganda. He comes from the Lira district; his family’s tribe is called Langi.

Nicky’s two younger sisters are Izzy and Petra. He enjoys dancing, playing basketball and football (soccer) and reading novels. (He does an absolute killer impression of Michael Jackson; his moonwalk would make MJ proud.) On the academic side, he's one of our top performing sponsored students. Nicky wants to be a famous artist and sell his work all over the world. He especially loves painting the human figure and animals.

In his own words:

“I believe in myself - that I can make it. I see people in poor conditions that have become good people & I want to do the same. President Obama inspires me. My aunties and uncles inspire me. They had a poor mother, but they are now living a happy life. Even before my father was killed, he was a traveler, a bus driver to other countries. He worked hard and had a happy life.”



At 17 years old, Eddie is a very friendly, sweet young man. He’s lived at SMK since he was ten. His father died when he was five, and his mother currently works in the market in Entebbe. He is from the Bugandan tribe.

Eddie’s a good drummer. He’s also an excellent football (soccer) player. He plays for his school team and is one of the most talented and respected players.

In his own words:

“I don’t know that my father ever really loved me. My mother said that she and my father were very happy until I was born. When I was young, my father left my mother and me, and he married my stepmother. He had other children with my stepmother. When my father died, my stepmother made my family move from my father’s house. We could not take any of our belongings with us. I have not liked my stepmother since that day. My mother works very hard in the Entebbe marketplace to provide some school fees for my sister, my brothers, and me. I love my mother very much. She is a good woman. I also love football. My football coach brought me to St. Mary Kevin when I was younger. He wanted me to continue to play football, and I live to play football. Rosemary recruited me because I am an orphan and because I am talented at football. I now play at my school. I love SMK because they give me food. I get to see my mother and siblings once in a while. To me, family is the people who live together and do the same things together. I have two families, my one at SMK and my mother and siblings.”

Eddie works hard in school and wants to either be an accountant or a professional football player. His favorite professional team (and he is a rabid fan!) is Manchester United.