Meet Divine Mugisha
By Kathia Dawson
For many teenagers around the world, pursuing education is often encouraged, accessible and free.
Such is not the case for young children in poverty stricken communities where students face obstacles that force them to drop out of school. In Malawi, families must pay for uniforms and an education past primary school, and oftentimes schools are over ten kilometers away from students’ homes, making it difficult for them to attend school because they face financial hardships and lack of transportation.
The Splicer Films’ team first met Divine Mugisha in 2021 while filming Unmasked: Real Heroes, Untold Stories. She stood out as a remarkable young woman passionate about helping her fellow classmates and community overcome obstacles keeping them from school. She started working as a volunteer secretary at Ubuntu Nation School in the Dzaleka refugee Camp, then soon expanded her initiatives to fundraise for kids in need.
The 19-year old has lived as a refugee in Malawi since nine months old and has seen and experienced poverty and these obstacles firsthand.
Fueled by the belief that education is one of the biggest determinants of escaping poverty, Mugisha started the organization Supportive Pillar Organisation to overcome these obstacles head on. Supportive Pillar focuses on students who are close to dropping out of school or have already dropped out because of the financial burden. The organization’s focus is to empower students in extreme poverty through an education. Divine’s organization provides students with physical, emotional, and financial support while they get through school.
While her organization mainly focuses on Malwawians — because of the early stage and local proximity — Divine plans to broaden her horizons and help more students achieve an education around the globe.
Mugisha is a hardworking and passionate individual who wants to make a change in her community, and around the world. She now plans to pursue a degree in psychology to help others overcome the traumas and trials she too has experienced and witnessed in her community. She aspires to provide professional psychological services to help to improve the mental health of the people at the refugee camp in hopes that it will help overcome depression and shift from surviving to thriving.
“My Dreams are simple. I want to be me… I love to help people. I love being there for other people, and the problems I see in the community, they need me to work on them, so I really want to improve my community.”
Divine’s dreams are helping those in her community, and through her inspiring work she has already helped many children.
While Mugisha is passionate about achieving her own degree she was unable to apply for universities in 2020 when her matriculation exams were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving her no choice but to stay in her community.
Three years later, Divine’s dreams of pursuing higher education are becoming a reality. In January 2023, Divine submitted her application to a university in the USA offering a full scholarship, mentorship and support.
Divine’s story of resilience, bravery, and selflessness is remarkable. Her amazing story serves as inspiration as she helps to uplift those in her community despite many of her own struggles. Splicer Films aims to spotlight Divine’s story with the goal to inspire and empower the next generation of leaders and change makers.
