Rehema is back with CROSO for a second scholarship. She was originally supported by CROSO as she completed her diploma in nursing at Mbale School for Nursing and Midwifery from 2017-2019. Rehema reapplied for the CROSO Scholarship in 2021 and was accepted to pursue her bachelor’s degree in nursing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, her program start-date was delayed, but she has since begun her studies at Clarke International University in Kampala.

Rehema’s goal has always been to provide medical services to people that have limited access to quality medical care. Since graduating with her diploma, she has been employed as a nurse at Hope for Justice, a nongovernmental organization in Kampala that works to provide support to street children. She is continuing to work there full-time while pursuing her bachelor’s degree at night and on the weekends. We know that Rehema will only continue to grow in her abilities to care for people in her community through this bachelor’s degree program.

When CROSO staff and board members met Rehema in 2016 and 2017, they appreciated her infectious optimism and her ability to easily connect with both visitors and her fellow CROSO Scholars. Rehema shared many stories with the CROSO visitors and her passion and emotional aptitude for work in the field of healthcare was very apparent. In visiting her at the Mbale School of Nursing and Midwifery, it was also clear that she was well-known and respected by administrators.

Rehema's History

Namuzungu Rehema has shown her independence from a young age. When she was quite little, her parents separated and she and her six siblings lived with her father. Not long after, her father died and so she went in search of her mother. She found her mother in town, but she did not have the means to support all seven children with food, shelter and school fees. Rehema began selling charcoal with her mom to help bring home extra money. It was while she was on the streets selling charcoal that C.R.O. social workers found her and invited her to join C.R.O.

Rehema was supported by C.R.O. though primary and secondary school and she even was supported for a certificate program in nursing. While in this program, Rehema learned that the government would be requiring nurses to all gain at least a diploma level in nursing. Rehema returned to C.R.O. to share this news and ask if they would continue supporting her, but they said they could not. They then informed her of the CROSO Scholarship.