Erivaida Nambogwe lives in Zanyiro parish, Kiyunga village with her mother who takes care of 15 people in her homestead. Erivaida’s father moved to the Western part of Uganda in search of a better job to look after his family. Erivaida’s father works as a farmer in Hoima. He visits his family once in a while.

At 16 years and in her 1st year of secondary school, Erivaida got pregnant. The father of her child was a fellow student. Erivaida knew she would get discontinued from school if she disclosed her condition to anyone, so she kept it to herself. She managed to complete the school year.

During her holidays, she joined her father to work in the shambas within Hoima. She was able to save UGX 50,000 to help her during delivery because her due date was drawing closer. Erivaida had no idea where the father of her baby was, so she needed to fend for herself. While living with her father, rumours went around that she was pregnant. Her father promised to cane her if what he heard turned true. When she started Senior two school year, her pregnancy was challenging to hide. She confided in her mother with a promise to get support.

Erivaida stayed in school until she gave birth. She loved school so much that she would ask for permission to go home and breastfeed her baby when her mother was not at home. She would go with her niece to school to keep the baby as she attended her classes. Her peers made fun of her though that did not deter her.

When her father discovered that she had given birth, he lived up to his promise. She was caned 20 strokes as a condition for her to get access to school fees. To Erivaida’s disappointment, her father did not pay her school fees even after having her caned.

It was a great relief for Erivaida when she heard about and joined this program. The opportunity to get a scholarship to go to school was like music to her ears.