Who is Joshua?June 26 2008

Joshua is the second born, the oldest son, in a family of six children – 3 boys and 3 girls.

We stayed in towns and later settled on a farm. My dad is a teacher and my mom is a housewife. We stay on an acre of land where we keep one cow, some sheep, chicken and turkey. We grow corn, vegetables and some flowers.

In 2003 I had joined the Makerere University in Uganda and I was taking a Bachelor of Arts majoring in tourism. During my second semester my uncle called me (he has an Uncle in Houston) and said I had won the lottery. If u go to travel.state.gov you will read more about the diversity visa program. I was so exited, and I had to stop going to school coz it would have been a waste of resources to complete a degree that wouldn’t help me here. Another reason would have been that my dad didn’t have enough money to c me through the university, but we were positive that they would be a way out. As a 1st borne in the family I was obligated to come and save the whole family. I have an elder sister, but in Africa they consider the boys to be of more value, coz they believe the gals will get married and belong to the other family. I have a bigger step brother but he kind of like decided to be on his own.
So...... my dad sat us down and explained the situation to the whole family and told them that we had to do everything to make sure that I come to America even if it meant selling everything we owned.

Kenya is peaceful at the moment. It is a poor country where close to 65% live under the poverty line. Most families live on a salary below $150 in a month, but we thank God. I work hard to see that my father gets a little extra money than what he was living on before I came to the states. I want him to be happy.

Many kids are on the streets and out of school because of poverty. Aids is another big blow in my country. The area I come from is a victim too. I am planning to start a small charity organization in my area for the orphans. My Dad had the same idea when I told him my plan. So we were thinking on the same lines.
See, many fortunate people from Africa don’t look back and help those who remained, but I am gonna take the challenge whatever it takes. I know God will see me through.