From a Young Refugee Mother to a Diploma Graduate: Sarah Utua’s Journey of Resilience and Determination

Story by  Gillian Avako     Published by  Stephen Ochwo, Information Technology and Communication Officer

In 2020, Sarah Utua reported to St. Jude Omugo Technical School carrying her baby and a determination to change her future. She was a young refugee mother from Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda’s West Nile region, and she had enrolled to study for a National Certificate in Agriculture.

Sarah is one of the young people supported through our Increasing Employment and Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Out-of-School Ugandan and Refugee Youth in West Nile project, with financial support from the Wilde Ganzen Foundation and Blue Ambition. Her story shows what can happen when opportunity meets determination.

As a young refugee mother, Sarah faced many challenges. Balancing childcare with the demands of technical training was not easy, and the cost of education was an extra financial burden. Like many young refugees, she risked having her hopes for education limited by circumstances beyond her control.

“Thank you, Kulika Uganda. You gave me hope, love, courage, and a new beginning. I had lost hope, integrity, and resilience, but I chose to take everything positively. The support I received gave me the courage to continue and believe in myself again.”

Sarah Utua

Through the project, her registration fees and learning materials were covered. That removed much of the financial barrier to training and let Sarah concentrate on her studies, take part in practical agricultural training and work towards her goals.

Sarah took the opportunity with both hands. She was active in classroom sessions and in hands-on agricultural work, steadily building the knowledge and practical skills she would need. Despite the demands of motherhood and the challenges of life in displacement, she stayed focused on her studies and completed her National Certificate in Agriculture.

The training gave her valuable agricultural skills and strengthened her confidence. More importantly, it gave her the courage to go further than her first qualification.

Rather than letting her circumstances limit her, Sarah kept moving forward. She enrolled for a Diploma at Isabel Mateo Technical Institute in Yumbe, where she is deepening her agricultural knowledge and widening her prospects for personal and professional growth.

For Sarah, the support she received went far beyond money for fees and access to a classroom. It renewed her confidence and her belief in herself, and it helped her picture a future shaped not by the challenges she had faced but by the possibilities ahead.

Her story speaks to other young refugees, mothers and members of host communities who face barriers to education and skills training. With the right support and her own commitment, Sarah turned one opportunity into a step towards further education.

The young mother who walked into St. Jude Omugo Technical School with her baby in 2020 is now studying for her diploma at Isabel Mateo Technical Institute in Yumbe.