Maitha, a JWL E-Commerce graduate in Kampala, shares his powerful journey “from a boy lost in a forest” of uncertainty to a man filled with hope and new dreams. Read on for the full story, as he shared it with us.

Would you rather listen to the story? Maitha joined us for a special episode of the Higher Ed Voices at the Margins podcast, with guest host Kalo, JWL Alumni Moderator, sharing his story and delving deeper into the role education played in transforming his life.

Tune in now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

My story: The boy who was lost in a forest full of trees

Good morning, dear JWL. My name is Maitha Mathias, a former student of E-Commerce at JWL Kampala, and this is my story.

It's been a while since I last thought about how my life used to be before joining JWL. I guess it wouldn't hurt to go back and relive the moment as I write my story. I remember I used to be someone who lost everything when I came to Kampala, Uganda. I am originally from the DRC Congo, and there was a time I had to flee my home country due to security reasons and become a refugee in Uganda, Kampala.

I remember it was around 2016, and it was a tough year. I had to learn how to adapt to this new life in a strange country, a country I knew nothing about. It wasn't easy, as I tried hard to find myself for six years, but I couldn't even figure out who I was anymore. I was a boy lost in a forest full of trees, and even though I kept trying, there was never a chance that I could ever know who I was anymore. Life was tough; I didn't know who I was, and the courage to fight was slowly fading away.

And as much as I hated to admit it, I was lost, and while I knew it was okay to not be okay, sometimes I couldn’t sleep, I couldn't help but wish for the world to stop, not for too long, just enough for me to catch up to everyone and just find out who I was as a person and know my purpose in life. For six years, I tried and tried, but the storms couldn't stop, and the cloud was still grey, and hope was gone; it was no longer there.

It came to a point where I had to accept that maybe that was what the stars wrote for me, that maybe that was all there was to my name, and that maybe that was all I could ever be - a boy lost in the forest in a strange country.

It wasn't until after seven years, in 2023, that someone I never knew mentioned a programme called E-commerce, a programme I knew nothing about. I knew deep within me that even though I was still lost, even though I didn't know who I was, I needed to at least go for this programme and just sit and listen to whatever the person in front of me would be saying. I needed to try and give it a try and see what would happen.

I did my entry exam, although I was still lost and confused, I still did it anyway because deep down, I knew I needed to just do it and be done with it. I remember the first day when I went for class; it was around afternoon time when I met the new facilitator of E-Commerce, Brian, a warm and welcoming person who welcomed me to class and introduced himself. I remember he was very nervous since it was his first time teaching, but he tried his best, and we had a successful first day of class.

After class that day, I went to him and talked to him a bit, and I couldn't help but admire his courage. I remember asking him why he was nervous, and he told me it was his first class and that he would still try his best until he got better because tomorrow was full of possibilities. I remember sitting down for a bit, replaying his answer in my head, asking myself if it was really true - that if someone kept doing their best, no matter what, things may get better just because tomorrow was full of possibilities.

I remember I wanted to come back and be part of the next class, and then the next and the next. I found myself wanting to study, wanting to become someone. I found myself having a passion for study, but most of all, I discovered a part of who I was as a person – ‘a student.’ The teacher that JWL selected helped me in discovering a small part of who I was, and that was just the beginning.

After that, I developed a passion for E-Commerce. Even though I knew nothing about it, I wanted to know more. I remember spending my days at the JWL centre in Kampala from morning to evening, every Monday to Friday, and it's all because I wanted to know more about this programme, about the online world. The programme helped me every day in discovering who I was as a person. Each session was like therapy, and I remember not missing any session throughout the entire six months because this programme was something that gave me hope knowing that for as long as I don’t stop trying, for as long as I don’t stop fighting, there was a chance I would see the light again.

This programme changed my life in a way that you will never understand. From Brian, the teacher who taught me to keep trying no matter what, because tomorrow was full of possibilities, to the E-Commerce programme that introduced me to the online world, a world I never knew existed, to the passion this programme instilled in me, and the dreams this programme gave me.

I used to think that I needed to find the dreams I lost when I was lost, but this programme gave me new dreams, dreams I never thought were possible. This programme gave me a chance at living life again, a chance to be someone, and it's all started with just a few words from a teacher who indirectly told me to keep trying no matter what, because tomorrow was full of possibilities. And to the programme itself, that completely changed my view of how I was looking at my life.

I remember after completing the E-Commerce programme, I was no longer the boy who was lost in the forest but instead, I was this person with a passion for studying, a passion for making a difference not just in my own life but in the lives of others who may also be lost in the forest as I was.

I remember using the same knowledge and passion that I was given from the E-Commerce programme to apply for an online scholarship at the University of the People in Colorado, USA, for a Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration, and thankfully, I was accepted and given the scholarship, and I couldn't be happier.

Now, if you look back, you will realise that a lot can happen in just one year. It's all started with a simple step, that was to just start studying, to just "start studying," and from there, things happened in ways that even words can't explain.

Now that I look back, I just appreciate the idea of ‘starting’ because no matter what you go through in life, the best thing you can ever do is to keep ‘trying’ and ‘starting’ because I would never have met Brian the teacher if I didn't ‘try’ to get into the JWL programme, and I would never have been accepted to the University of the People if I didn't ‘start’ with the JWL programme. The first thing is to keep trying, and then start.

The JWL programme gave me a foundation that helped the boy who was lost in the forest become someone with dreams. Today, I'm pursuing even higher education, participating in different leadership conferences, and it's all thanks to the JWL programme and God, and I'm grateful for each and everything that this programme has done in my life.

Sometimes the JWL staff may not see what they are doing, but they are changing lives of people in tiny, unexpected ways, and my only hope is that they should keep on doing that because they are building leaders without even realising it.

The JWL isn't an institution that teaches people; it's an institution that saves lives of people through education. I'm grateful because you saved a boy who was lost in a forest to a man with dreams, and for that, I will always be grateful.

My only message to all the students out there,

I encourage you to keep trying your best,

No matter what happens in life,

You may be lost today,

But know that for as long as you don’t stop trying,

For as long as you don’t stop fighting,

There’s a chance you may see the light again

Because tomorrow is full of possibilities.

So don’t give up.

Just not yet.

That’s my story…

With sincere gratitude,

Maitha Mathias