Stephen comes from Luwero District, a central region of Uganda. He entered the Road to Hope program in November of 2012 after a palliative care team in the district witnessed Stephen’s struggles after his mother’s death.
Stephen lost his father at a young age and soon after his mother was diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. With his mother bedridden, Stephen assumed the responsibility of taking care of her which included bathing her, making sure she got her medication and finding food for both of them. To earn money, he took on odd jobs such as growing produce and working as a bricklayer. Some funds also went to pay his school fees – this always was a struggle!
Despite the challenges, he performed well in high school and was accepted into an education program that would allow him to become a clinical officer (much like a physician’s assistant in the US). He graduated from the Institute of Health Sciences in Kabale in 2015. Stephen is now in medical school to become a doctor. After graduation, he plans to provide palliative care to those in need, as his mother was.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephen has worked closely with PCAU as a volunteer to mentor students enrolled in the Road to Hope program. During lockdowns that resulted from the pandemic, Stephen was instrumental is PCAU’s continued outreach to students in the home villages.