#OPLAStories - The two stories we are passing on to you today tell about dreams, dignity, trust and communion, featuring two young people from Burundi and Cameroon, respectively
by Tainã Santana on behalf of the OPLA Team
Burundi today is the second poorest country in the world, considering the GDP per capita1, and the fourth considering the multidimensional poverty index (MPI), with more than two out of every five people living in extreme poverty 2. This is the context that the first protagonist of this article, Mugisha Acul comes from.
Mugisha had a deep desire to continue his studies after completing high school: his dream was to become an entrepreneur. He thought his father could help him pay for a university course in Bujumbura, but all he had could only cover rent and some food. He looked everywhere for other solutions, but having not found any, he says, ‘I started to lose my balance, because I did not see how to do it, my dream was about to be shattered’.
That was the moment when the local EoC workers became aware of the situation and intervened. Together with Mugisha, they applied for support in the form of a scholarship so that he could attend his ‘dream school’, as he puts it. He was thus able to study at Universitè Lumière de Bujumbura with the peace of mind that he would be able to pay his fees, without the embarrassment of not being able to cover them and having to interrupt his course of studies.
‘You didn't just help me pay my fees,’ he concludes, ‘you made me study with full dignity’.
From Cameroon, where out of every four people one experiences extreme poverty 3, 
we are bringing Stella to you, who is our second protagonist. She too had started her studies through an EoC scholarship, and wrote to us to bring us up to date. She has just finished her first year of accounting, achieving the ACCA qualification, by a globally recognised professional accountancy body that providing qualifications and advancing standards in accountancy worldwide 4.
In Stella's experience, the aspect of trust gets emphasised. Trusting someone can unleash their potential, opening doors for them and promoting their personal development. Stella writes:
‘your trust in my potential inspires me to work towards my goals. I thank you for believing in me’.
These stories, like so many others we tell here, carry the same confirmation: if there is communion, in which we share more than money, and walk together, with each one putting in his or her own, we go far beyond mere assistance: we help each other dream!
And you, what are you waiting for? Write to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and become part of this journey too.
Credits foto: Image of the Lake of Bujumbura by Taty Lameck from Pexels:
1 International Monetary Fund, World EconomicOutlook April 2024.
2 Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (June 2023).“Burundi Country Briefing”, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford.
3 Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (June 2023). “Cameroon Country Briefing”, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford.
4 About us, ACCA Global. Cf. https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/about-us
