When a group of Sydney students started sponsoring a child in Uganda, they had no idea the impact they would make. Raphael was one of many children in need following 23 years of war in his homeland. Today he is a grown man and ready to pass on the support he received. His story shows what happens when you help a child in need.

Life was simply so challenging before I was sponsored. I am one of 15 children. My father made just $50 a month to support us so it was very hard for my family to secure school fees for us all. It was compounded by the war we had for 23 years. When I was introduced to ChildFund it was a turning point in my life.

When I was a child we were dispersed from home to live in a camp due to the civil war. Outside it was unsafe but it was also not safe inside the camp as the enemy would sometimes come in and raid for food, to kill or steal children.

I lived with my family in a makeshift home in the camp from the late 1990s until 2006. When we moved to the camp the focus moved from education to security. During this time children were detached from schools. We could not put on lights to study at night time because the enemy would find you.

I was sponsored at 12 years old when I was in grade six. The biggest benefit of being a sponsored child for me was school fees. I didn’t have to worry about school fees anymore. Instead I could concentrate on my studies.

Sponsorship pulled me from nowhere to being able to have a good life in Uganda. It was like a bridge. If that bridge had not been there I would not have been able to get to the other side.

Even as a child I knew that education was most important because if I am educated, all the rest will come. Before my last year of primary school, me and a friend spoke to the ChildFund officer and said we wanted to be transferred to a better school. He assisted us with the application. Our parents didn’t come with us and the school was afraid we wouldn’t be able to pay our fees. We told them, “It’s okay, we are with ChildFund” and it was okay. I turned out to be one of their best students.