Impact Stories: Meet Malvin Akwara, a Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumnus, who is dedicated to promoting inclusive education.

Malvin Akwara obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, specialising in English Language and Literature, from Makerere University in 2023, with support from the Mastercard Foundation. Since graduating, she has developed a passion for helping young people with disabilities access education at both secondary and university levels.

Akwara Malvin on her graduation Day January 2023

Who is Malvin Akwara

Malvin was born on 22nd November 1998 in Tororo, Eastern Uganda, into a family of six children (three girls and three boys). Shortly afterwards, the family moved to Kampala, where her father worked as an accountant. In 2009, her father lost his job, marking the beginning of a difficult period for the entire family. When her father lost his job and was the only breadwinner, the family returned to Tororo because they could no longer afford the high cost of living in the city.

Early Education

At the age of three, Malvin began her early childhood education at Clever Junior School in Kitintale, a Kampala suburb, where she attended Nursery School through Primary Three. Here, life was quite good, and she enjoyed being dropped off at school and picked up by her father, as was typical of most Kampala middle-class families. Unfortunately, it was not long before life took a different twist when her father lost his job and the family moved back to Tororo. In Tororo, she joined Morukebu Primary School, where she sat for her Primary Seven Leaving Examinations. Unlike her experience of a reasonably good life at school in Kampala, she had to walk long distances to and from school (14 kilometres each way) with her siblings, because her father could no longer afford to take them. The family had taken to subsistence farming to earn a living. The family worked together on the farm to grow food for home consumption and to sell some to pay school fees.

Pursuing Secondary Education

With her hard-earned 15 points from the Primary Leaving Examinations, Malvin embarked on her journey towards secondary education. She attended St. John’s Wakitaka in Jinja for her O-levels from 2013 to 2016. However, in 2015, just before sitting her Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, her father passed away due to peptic ulcers. His death devastated the already struggling family, and life became even harder. Left in the care of her single mother, with no steady source of income, Malvin and her siblings’ prospects looked bleak. Her father's passing significantly affected her final results; she scored 39 points, which was poor compared to her earlier performance. With support from her paternal uncle, she later joined Budini Boarding Secondary School in Kaliro district, where she scored 14 points in History, Economics, Literature, and Divinity in 2018. By then, her other siblings had dropped out of school due to lack of fees, as their mother could not afford to keep them in school. To make matters worse, family disputes arose when her father’s relatives evicted her mother from the family land, leaving them homeless and with only enough land to grow food for their own consumption.

Pursuing University Education

With 14 points in her 2018 Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations, Malvin was hopeful about pursuing her university education with the support of her paternal uncle, who had helped her through A-level. Unfortunately, that hope was short-lived when her uncle shared the difficult news that he could not afford to send her to university because he needed to support his own children financially. The news was a significant setback to her dreams of being the first girl in her family to attend university. Unable to join a university at that time, Malvin embarked on a journey to find small jobs to support her mother and help the family.

It was during her job search that she came to Kampala to work for a family as a house helper, mainly caring for one of her boss’s mother, who was in her sickbed at Kiruddu Hospital. During the three months she spent in the hospital as a carer, she learnt about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University through one of the family's children, who was studying there.

Joining the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University

Armed with the necessary information about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University, Malvin applied in 2019 and was delighted to be selected. Soon after, she was given the opportunity to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Education, specialising in English Language and Literature. While at university, Malvin did not forget her family back home in Tororo. She allocated part of her stipend to support her mother and to ensure her siblings returned to school. During her second year at university in 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, bringing everything to a halt, including education at the university.

Malvin and her colleagues during her time at the Scholars Program

When Malvin was grounded at home, just as all her colleagues were, she didn’t let the misery that came with COVID-19 break her down; instead, she used it as an opportunity to support people in her community who were facing social and economic barriers to opportunities. Using her little savings, she started a piggery project to help single mothers in her community by giving them piglets to rear, multiply, and distribute to others experiencing similar challenges.

 The piggery project helped several single mothers send their children to school. It is through this piggery project that Malvin came across Omukaga Samuel, a young person living with a disability who had been out of school because his parents could not afford to pay his school fees. With support from the piggery project, Malvin, together with the boy’s parents, helped him return to school. This experience with Omukaga Samuel ignited Malvin’s passion for supporting learners living with disabilities to access education.

Malvin with Omukagga Sam, one of the young person's with disabilities she supported to be in school.

Life After Makerere University

Upon graduating in 2023, Malvin immediately found a position teaching English Language and Literature at Elite High School, one of Kampala's top secondary schools.  At this school, Malvin has grown into a professional teacher, career advisor, and mentor to many young people both within and outside the school.

Through mentorship, she has focused on supporting young people living with disabilities to return to school by helping them secure bursaries for secondary education and apply for scholarships to access university. For example, she assisted Omukaga Samuel in applying for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University, where he is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Adult and Community Education, as well as Patricia Namiwanda, who is presently studying for a Master's degree in Human Rights at Makerere University, all thanks to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Sam Omukaga, a Makerere University student and a Scholar of Mastercard Foundation.

Malvin has also used her resources to build a decent house for her mother, where she now lives with her siblings in Manafwa District, Eastern Uganda, restoring hope after the family lost their home due to land disputes.

Malvin with her mother, in the background is the decent home she constructed for her.

Impact on the Community

As the first-generation girl to achieve a university education, Malvin has inspired many young girls in her home district of Tororo to pursue further studies and has continued to support them through peer mentorship. Although she works and resides in Kampala, she travels home every Friday to meet and mentor young girls in secondary schools in her district, encouraging them to stay in school and avoid early marriage, which remains a significant challenge for many young girls in her district of Tororo and across Eastern Uganda.

Malvin with some of the young people she mentors at schools in Tororo.

In addition, her piggery project has expanded across the entire district, improving the economic well-being of many participants in her community.

Looking into the Future

Malvin is optimistic about a bright future ahead, judging by the progress she has made in her life. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Education with a specialization in Languages at Makerere University. She aspires to specialise in curriculum development and work with the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) to design an inclusive curriculum that will help young people living with disabilities access meaningful education in Uganda. She also envisions building a school in her community that will specifically support young people living with disabilities in attaining inclusive, quality education.

Malvin having an interview with Mr. Buteera recently at Makerere University where she is pursuing her Masters degree.

Message to Fellow Young Women…

Malvin urges young women not to despair or give up in the face of difficult situations.

“I urge my fellow young women not to give up or despair when faced with difficult situations. They should always challenge themselves to emerge stronger from such circumstances.” Malvin shares.

 Words of Gratitude 

Malvin expressed gratitude to the Mastercard Foundation for the support that enabled her to attain a quality university education at Makerere University.

“If it were not for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, I wouldn’t have attained a university education. I am therefore grateful and humbled for the opportunity extended to me and other Mastercard Foundation Scholars through this life-changing program.” Malvin remarked.

Malvin further urged the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program team at Makerere University and other Mastercard Foundation partners to reach out to distant areas so that more young people facing social and economic barriers to opportunities can also access university education.

The story was compiled by Bernard Buteera, the Principal Communications Officer for Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University.