The Day My Journey to Success Began
It was November 26th, 2018 — the day I had been waiting for with both excitement and fear. My classmates and I at St Bakhita Primary School gathered together to take our national examinations. After years of hard work, this moment had finally come. The exams lasted until November 30th, and when we finished, I felt a mix of relief and uncertainty.
Immediately following the exam, school closed for break and so I traveled back home to Juba, the capital city of South Sudan. Though I tried to enjoy my break, I couldn’t escape one constant worry — what if I didn’t pass? The thought haunted me. I found myself lost in worry so often that my mother began to notice. “What’s wrong?” she would ask, concerned for my wellbeing, but I didn’t want to burden her, so I kept my fears to myself and acted like everything was fine.
Every night, I prayed fervently. I asked God to help me score at least 450 marks — a number that became my constant hope. I knew I had done my best, but I feared that mistakes by examiners in tallying my score could ruin everything. Still, I trusted that God would see me through.
Then one night, something amazing happened. I dreamt that someone came to me and said, “Congratulations, you are number one.” I remember doubting it even in the dream, but when I woke up, I prayed again — that maybe the dream was a sign. Later that same day, my mother was telling me about a dream she had the night before, and I decided to share mine with her. When I explained that in the dream someone told me I scored the highest on the test, she lifted her hands and shouted, “Amen!” Her faith gave me strength.
Weeks later, the long-awaited news came, the results were out! We needed to travel back to Narus, where my school was located, but the journey from Juba was long and costly. My mother, always my advocate, struggled to raise the transport money, but she did and we made it.
When we finally reached Narus, the moment I stepped off the vehicle, students ran to greet me with huge smiles and excitement. Confused but hopeful, I went to the deputy’s office. He looked at me warmly and said, “Thank you for raising our school up.” My heart skipped. Then a classmate shouted, “You’re the best in the state!”
I ran to the headteacher’s office, trembling as she handed me the result sheet. There it was, 453 marks! I did even better than I thought was possible. I was so happy and thanked God for my results.
Scholar update: This Scholar has been supported by Mercy Beyond Borders since primary school and currently attends university, where she is majoring in computer science.
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