Stories from Uganda: Nadia's Story

My name is Nadia, and I am a 17-year-old secondary school senior. Thanks to FABIO’s Cycle to School programme, I have a bike that enables me to cycle to school safely!

My life changed because of FABIO!

Before I had my bike, I used to have to wake up at 5 am. I would wake up and bathe myself, and by 5:40 I would be able to start walking to school. In the evenings, I would get back from school at 5 pm. I would walk for 40-50 minutes in the dark to get to school from home. The time I would spend walking in the dark was not safe for me.

I didn’t feel safe, but I had such a desire and motivation to get to school that I would go despite feeling uneasy. It was hard because I have no friends who live near me and no brothers or sisters to walk to school with. Sometimes, on my walk to school, wild dogs or other animals that could attack me. I’d even see people meeting in the dark. I was afraid.

The worst moment of my life was when I was walking to school, and a person tried to strangle me, and I couldn’t tell if they were going to just strangle me or also rape me. I survived because a passerby on a motorcycle came with their lights on and managed to scare them away.

After the assault, I felt stigmatised, and I was really struggling. It was difficult because the news of what had happened to me was broadcast on the radio. On one hand, it was good that people knew what had happened, but I don’t think people considered the impact it had on me. Everyone in my school and community knew what had happened to me.

The combination of the assault and everyone knowing wasn’t easy on me, but this was when FABIO intervened. They talked to me, they talked to my parents, and they stood up for me.

As well as support, they gave me a bike! This gave me a lot of hope and happiness because now I have my bike! Now, I can just go past people on my bike, and I don’t hear them saying things about me. I have new hope and joy. Because of the bike, I don’t have to be stressed about my safety or rushed in the mornings to make it to school.

When I finish school, I want to become a doctor or a nurse so I can help people! My mother is in full support of my education; she says, ‘My daughter, you can make it!’

I think FABIO are doing very important work because there are a lot of other students like me who are benefiting from having bicycles to allow them to get to school. My heart knows how much FABIO has helped me and other young girls with bicycles to get to school!

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