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2010 ChildrenUP Student
Okello Jimmy Ronaldo

2010 Meeting Okello Jimmy Ronaldo

Okello Jimmy Ronaldo It is no secret that Ronaldo refers to a famous soccer player, Okello Jimmy loves soccer too. Ronaldo is an orphan with no living relatives. During primary school he survived on donated food and clothing. He did incredibly well in primary school and in his Primary 7 leaving exam. At St. Joseph Layibi College [high school] he has done well in his classes this first month and is developing new skill during this first month of high school is learning to play guitar.

2011 UPdate on Okello Jimmy Ronaldo

We saw Ronaldo in January 2011. What an incredible young man. He is rated #5 in his class out of a class of 201 students! At the beginning of last year, teachers thought that he was a poor student because he did not want to answer in class. During the past year the mentors worked with the teachers to make sure they were aware of his intelligence. Since the average class size is around 80 students, the teachers needed to be made aware that Ronaldo was reluctant to talk in class because he stutters.

When we first arrived he proudly brought out a large binder that held all of his papers and exams from the past year. This was a powerful way for him to communicate his success to us. It is amazing to realize that Ugandan students study 13 or 14 courses in a week. Some may meet only once a week for one subject and others may be five times a week.

I have Ronaldo on video tape thanking his sponsors for their assistance. It was a pretty emotional for me to video tape.

A word about Ronaldo. He is a total orphan with no living relatives. Clan members of his tribe have stepped forward to watch over him and make sure that he was safe as he was growing up. On our visit the care and pride the clan held for Ronaldo and his successes was so obvious. We were so pleased to see the warmth and friendship that the clan gave to support Ronaldo. We acknowledge the warmth and care his sponsors have shown Ronaldo as they have suffered family losses also.