Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2019

33 SOUTHWESTERN Because formal educationwas so inaccessible, more than 70% of children throughout some Northern Ugandan villages were not attending school on a regularbasis.Instead,asDavidsonandFreddiscovered throughaseriesofinterviewswithlocals,thechildren would stay home to do dawn-to-dusk farm work. Some would even go to bars to drink. One 14-year- old girl married a 50-year-old man just so that her family could benefit from the dowry. The cycle of poverty would continue. Butwith theFebruary2018openingofNahlaSchool, which now serves 400 students and employs 12 teachers inObit Barpunu—andwith a second school on the horizon—children are studying, learning to read and write, and interacting with classmates. They are happy and confident: Whereas once they would be too shy or even afraid to answer questions, now, they can realistically dreamof the future. “The most exciting thing is to actually see all the kids at the schoolwho are learning and getting aneducation and to hear the feedback from their families that they’ve seen a change in their kids, that they’re speakingmoreEnglishat homenow,” saysDavidson. “Now, [the children] say, ‘Iwant tobe adoctor! Iwant to be an engineer! I want to be teacher!’ That’s the most rewarding part: This school is impacting all these kids’ lives—and their families’ lives.” For more on Davidson’s journey, please visit www.southwestern.edu/live/ news/13097-fulfilling-the-dreams-of-many.