Okia John is an S4 candidate this year. S4s are referred to as “candidates” because they are scheduled to sit for the Uganda National Examinations Board papers in October. The results of these exams will determine both the type of academic program they can pursue and the quality of school they can go to. They are somehow similar to our version of the ACT/SAT exams.
Okia John is 17 years old. He is the first born of three children. His parents most likely would have opted to have more children, but they both died when Okia John was 7 years old. He is not sure how they died, but he said they both fell sick around the same time and then they were gone. His mother was pregnant when she fell sick and lost the baby as well.
Now Okia John lives with his grandparents, whom he says are somewhere in their 70’s. He has had to put up with their quarreling often and says they used to abuse alcohol but they don’t anymore.
This is my 3rd term teaching him and he is by far one of my best students. He has a great attitude and is so eager to learn and talk to me all the time. He is our Compound Prefect.
He speaks four languages: Lugwere, Ateso, Luganda, and English. He is an Itesote (Ateso speaking) by tribe. He wakes up at 5am each morning to fetch water and/or dig in the garden. He lives in small village called Kagondo. He leaves his home to walk to school every morning at around 6am. He arrives at school around 7:30am. He sits through lessons from 8-6. At 6pm, he leaves the school and arrives home around 7:30pm.
Okia John, if he is successful on his UNEB papers, wants to study physics, economics, mathematics, and entrepreneurship. This is the combination that would enable him to get a job as an engineer someday, potentially, if the jobs happen to be there.
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