Madhvani scholarships put smiles on thousands of faces

In November, Rehema Nakibuuka will be among hundreds of other graduands at Islamic University In Uganda (IUIU).
However, that is not the news. The juicy bit is that Nakibuuka, one of the top three students in her Business Studies class, having posted a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.5; would have made her 16 siblings proud of her for going against all the odds to complete school despite losing their father at a tender age. But this would have never been without Madhvani Foundation.

The 22-year-old resident of Kawempe, the eighth of 16 siblings, knew she would never continue with her education after her father passed on in 2008. She was in Senior Four then at Kawempe Muslim School then and had already seen most of her siblings drop out of school due to financial constraints.
Her mother, Ms Halima Mirembe Mukuye, took the breadwinner role soon after the demise of Nakibuuka’s father, but that was just a drop in the ocean as the domestic demands were overwhelming.
“My mother learnt how to make liquid soap from a cousin. This, she supplied to Kawempe Muslim School in exchange for fees,” she says.
This saw Nakibuka limp through A-Level where she scored 22 points.

“There was no way my mother would raise Shs1.8 million per semester from soap alone, seeing that there were other siblings to take care of,” Nakibuuka recalls. “I sat home through the first year and prayed for a miracle.”
During the Senior Six vacation, Nakibuuka also found herself diversifying in a bid to make ends meet.
She worked at a nearby supermarket where she earned Shs70,000 monthly. Armed with the little savings from her job at the supermarket and the sale of liquid soap by her mother, Nakibuuka went to IUIU and explained that she would pay in bits.

To her relief, the university agreed.
During the second semester, a relative advised her to apply for the Madhvani Foundation’s Scholarships. She reluctantly did so and was shortlisted.

That year, she was one of the 150 beneficiaries of the scholarships offered to bright but not financially stable Ugandans pursuing either undergraduate or graduate studies at university level in within the country. The scholarship covers tuition fees only from second year to completion for undergraduates. It also covers the entire programme of study for graduate students from the time of award.

About 1,700 students have benefited from the scholarships since its inception in 2003, dedicating about Shs600 million for students each year until graduation, according to Beatrice Apoto, the Foundation’s Administrator.
Already, 150 students have been selected for the 2014/2015 Madhvani Foundation Scholarships programme worth Shs650 million.

Requirements
For one to benefit from the Fund, according to Ms Apoto, they should have completed first year and have good grades.
Students with CGPA lower than 2.2 and with a retake in any subject in the first year of study are not eligible to apply as well as students already on sponsorship from elsewhere.
“All applicants shall be required to provide proof of completion of First Year study for undergraduate applicants and proof of admission to a degree or postgraduate programme in a recognised university or institution of higher learning in Uganda for post graduate applicants,” reads part of a statement on the Foundation’s website.
The scholarship, according to Nakibuuka, lifted the fees burden off her mother’s shoulder.

“She was able to plan ahead and look for the other 30 per cent, since Madhvani covered the other 70 per cent,” the accounts major says. “This also pushed me into working harder. I would submit my results early enough so that the money is sent to the university before the start of the semester.”

This is because the scholarship is extended as a grant payable directly to the university or institution on behalf of the beneficiaries and can only be renewed subject to receiving satisfactory progress reports from the beneficiaries’ faculty, institute or school. Retakes in more than one subject would entail withdrawal of the scholarship.

Upon completion, beneficiaries are urged to make voluntary contributions to the Fund in order to benefit future scholars.
As she awaits graduation, and hopefully a job as a banker, Nakibuuka advises other economically challenged students to focus, read hard and maintain good grades.
“And when the chance like the one I got comes your way, please seize it with both hands,” she says.

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