Julian

Scholastica and Julian

One evening, I was walking Paul and Mary’s children home from school when Scholastica, the woman across the road, stopped me and said, “Come closer. I have something to ask you.”

She began to tell me about her daughter, Julian, who had just completed secondary school and desired to continue with her university studies, with the hope of becoming a nurse. She pulled out an envelope containing the university acceptance letter, to show that she was telling the truth. However, she said, the tuition payments (roughly $644/semester) were too much for the family. She explained that she had seen me at morning Mass, so she thought that I might be willing to help her to find a sponsor for her daughter.

As I had all the children with me and I wanted to get them home, I tried to kindly end the conversation, but did not promise her anything: “I will pray for you. I will see what I can do. Let me get these children home.”

Over the next several weeks, I kept my promise to pray for her, and at the same time I prayed about her request. Finally, I ended with a novena to St. Therese and asked her to help make it clear whether I should help this woman. I came across more than one rose that week (God knows I’m slow; one rose is not enough).

So, I called Scholastica and asked her if we could meet again in person and discuss more. She invited me into her home and I asked several questions about the school, the financial situation of the family, what Julian hoped to do with a nursing degree, and how to contact her. She produced bank statements, pay stubs from her job, and receipts from the university registrar’s office. She was committed to finding support for her daughter’s education. Feeling confident in the fact that the Lord had shown his support, I agreed to look for a sponsor for Julian.

Today, I traveled with Scholastica to Mbarara University to meet Julian. She has been studying at the university since the fall. However, her first semester was paid for by a loan which Scholastica will be paying back until at least 2016. The second semester had only been half-paid, from the contribution of a friend and the proceeds from having sold the family pig. Scholastica pays for Julian’s room and board with whatever she can manage from work and other donations from family members. I brought with me $260 (left from the donations all of you wonderful people had given me before I came to Uganda) and paid the balance from this semester’s tuition.

Julian happily showed us around the campus, to her lecture halls and the nearby hospital where she practices as a nursing student. She hopes to someday work with AIDS patients. She described her joy at being able to study and talked about her favorite classes the different things she is learning. She stays at a hostile nearby, and is even able to attend Mass every morning at the campus.

Please pray for Julian and her family. As well, if you are able to sponsor a semester or a year of school for Julian (or know someone who can), I ask you to prayerfully consider this and let me know (you can contact me at liguori0728@yahoo.com). I will send you details, pictures and contact information for mom and daughter, so you can communicate and pray for them. As well, Scholastica will happily send you the receipts from the university as tuition is paid. I thank God and you for your generosity. May God return the blessing one hundredfold!