Nantabo Naume

NAUME’S CROSO SCHOLARSHIP

Naume was accepted as a CROSO Scholar in 2017 and is pursuing a certificate in Tourism and Travel Management from the YMCA Comprehensive Institute in Kampala with the goal of becoming a hotel manager.  In addition to becoming one of the ‘best managers in Uganda’ her goal is to take advantage of the influential people she expects to meet in this field and use these relationships to help C.R.O. and other organizations helping needy children. Naume is expected to graduate in 2019.

NAUME’S HISTORY

When Naume was little, she lived in Namtala, a slum area near Mbale, with her parents and two siblings. In Uganda’s patriarchal society, it is not uncommon for parents to favor their male children over their female children because they believe they have the most potential. Naume experienced this in her family growing up. Her parents did not approve of her attending school and neglected to support her. Naume loved school and desired the opportunity to go. Naume began to live on the streets because her parents would not allow her to attend school. She became connected to C.R.O. in 2002 and through their support, she completed both primary and secondary school levels. She is now back living with her parents.

Naume has found several ways to get involved in activities at C.R.O. and at her secondary school. She enjoys playing netball and was her school’s team captain. She also participates in the C.R.O. choir and is one of the C.R.O. Peer Educators. On a Peer Educator trip in 2015, C.R.O. staff members were impressed by the leadership displayed by Naume. When they arrived after a long bus ride, there was no water available. Before the adults had an opportunity to address the issue, Naume had already organized a group of girls to go to a nearby borehole to collect water for the group!