Patricia's Story

Patricia Letiru’s story begins in Vurra village in the Arua District in northern Uganda, where she was the last of six children born to Rosemary and Jackson Dradiku. Patricia’s adolescent years were marked by the death of several close family members, including her eldest brother and sister, and her father.Patricia’s second oldest sibling, Beatrice Alezuyo, died of HIV/AIDS in 1996. Before she died, she was working in Yumbe District as a women’s counsellor and community peer educator. She married a Muslim man called Kasim Ayisuga, to whom she was married for around three years without bearing a child.

Beatrice was a lovely and jolly lady, and she was very sociable with anybody who was close to her. Her home was open to anybody who needed help and comfort. She taught Patricia and her other younger siblings how to love one another and she also taught them how to live within their limited rural means. Beatrice was the most respectable and respected person in the whole clan of Ambale, because she made the people of the clan from Aving, Congo, Vurra and Sudan familiar with one another and that has remained as history in Ambala.

When Patricia was young, around the age of 12 years old, she never knew that life would one day become difficult for her. Because she was the youngest, everybody in the family pampered her and her sister Beatrice used “to handle [her] like an egg in the tray.”

Patricia lived a happy, comfortable life with Beatrice in Yumbe. Beatrice made Patricia feel like a queen, as she would accompany Patricia everywhere and attend to all of her needs.

When Beatrice realised that she was HIV positive, however, she began telling Patricia that life was useless and too short. She tried to prepare Patricia for the inevitable by teaching her to be independent. Patricia did not initially know why she talked like that, because everything still seemed normal to her. The first time Beatrice became truly sick, she told Patricia, “my sister, I know I love you but I could die at any time because I know there is no drug for my sickness.” Indeed, there were no ARVs at that time; had there been, Beatrice might still be alive today.

When Beatrice’s condition worsened, she resigned from work and came home to Patricia’s parents. Many people preferred not to go near her, but Patricia never forgot how much Beatrice loved her and all that she had done for her, so she helped to take care of Beatrice as much as she could. By that time, Patricia’s father had retired from work as a school teacher. There was nowhere to seek help, and at that time drugs were much more expensive for people living with HIV. Most people were not willing to touch her because they believed that HIV was contracted through body contact and that by touching an HIV positive person, they thought that they too would become infected. Patricia, on the other hand, used to eat the food Beatrice left over on her plate because nobody else would want to eat it.

There were women, such as Roza Akutia, who used to help Patricia’s mom clean Beatrice’s body, especially when she occasionally passed diarrhoea. As for Patricia, she was just like a servant to her sister. Sometimes at school, Patricia’s friends would not like to sit beside her and they would not share food with her because they knew that she came from a family where HIV had infiltrated.

After Beatrice passed away in 1996, life became harder for Patricia. The only hope was in her brother, Anguzu Robert, but unfortunately he also tested HIV positive. He worked with the Uganda Waragi Company in Kampala, and he lived in Luzira, where he had two wives and seven children. One of the children died shortly after birth, but all of his six orphaned children are still alive.

Just as Patricia was entering the last semester of high school in August 2008, her father died of diabetes and hypertension. Despite the increasing responsibility that was given to her, Patricia remained dedicated to completing her education. However, her father as a retired schoolteacher, had been the family’s main provider of income through his government pension and loans. Thus, after his death, there was no money for Patricia to go to school. But thanks to a donation pulled together by her church’s congregation before her father’s burial, there was just enough money for Patricia to finish high school.

After completing high school in January 2009, Patricia found a job in a hotel called the Honest Guesthouse in Arua town. She earned a meagre 60,000 Ugandan Shillings (around $25) per month for cooking, cleaning and serving. Her salary was enough to sustain her and to contribute to her family back in Vurra, since her mother and the orphaned children of her late brother depended solely on her income.

Patricia worked at the Honest Guesthouse until June 2009, but she knew that such a small salary would not be able to provide enough savings to pay for further education, which she was determined to pursue. The owner of the hotel, Majid Kamis, and the manager, Acidri Godwill, were very good to her and gave her free accommodation on week nights as well as an occasional allowance of 10,000 to 15,000 Shillings, but even this could not pay the fees she needed.

In hope of finding a solution, she called Dr. Geoffrey Anguyo, who is her first cousin and originally from northern Uganda as well. After completing his training to become a physician, Dr. Anguyo was transferred to Kabale in south west Uganda, where he settled down. On hearing of Patricia’s situation, he invited her to stay in Kabale with him while she attended a local college. Patricia seized the opportunity for education and moved to Kabale in June 2009.

She enrolled in the African College of Commerce (ACC), where she completed a certificate in Information Communication Technology (ICT) in one year. After that, she earned a diploma in tourism and food and nutrition. While studying at the ACC, Patricia also worked at KIHEFO, the healthcare organisation established by Dr. Anguyo. The money earned from her work cooking and cleaning the volunteer apartments paid for her higher education.

In June 2012, Patricia graduated from the ACC with her diploma, and since then, she has continued working for KIHEFO in the Kigezi Tours Department. She is establishing a crafts business, through which she sells Ugandan crafts and goods. Through her blog, soon-to-come website, and connections through KIHEFO, Patricia hopes to reach a global market. Throughout her journey in earning her diploma and setting up her business, Dr Anguyo and his wife Sylivia have been like parents to Patricia. They have provided her with food, board, funds for school and, above all, unwavering support in accomplishing her goals.

Altogether, the money she earns from her work at the KIHEFO apartment complex and her new crafts business goes towards the education of her late brother’s six children. The second eldest daughter, Pauline, is now 18 and is interested in nursing. The third daughter, Judith, is sixteen and looking into accounting. Patricia is dedicated to ensuring that these girls have the means and opportunity to follow their dreams while she pursues her own.