For many young Ugandans, success can seem out of reach because of the challenges they face growing up. But for Reagan Tumusiime Gibril, a student from God Cares High School in Wakiso District, determination, curiosity and hard work helped him turn adversity into opportunity.
Today, Reagan is one of the beneficiaries of the Equity Leaders Program (ELP), Equity Bank Uganda’s flagship initiative that supports academically gifted young people and prepares them for future leadership roles.
Reagan’s story began in Fort Portal before his family moved to Kampala in search of better opportunities. Raised by his single mother in the densely populated suburb of Kibuli, he faced many challenges from an early age.
Adjusting to a new environment was not easy. Reagan struggled to fit in at school and often felt insecure about his accent and limited English proficiency. Fear of being mocked by classmates affected his confidence.
However, everything changed when he was in Primary Four.
While walking through his neighbourhood, Reagan came across an old, broken laptop that had been discarded by the roadside. What many people saw as useless scrap, he saw as an opportunity to learn.
Driven by curiosity, he took the damaged device home and tried to power it using spare batteries. To his surprise, the laptop switched on.
That single moment would change the direction of his life.
“It changed something in me,” Reagan recalls.
The discovery sparked a deep interest in technology and inspired him to dream bigger. What started with a discarded laptop soon developed into a passion that would shape both his academic ambitions and future career goals.
Motivated by this newfound interest, Reagan dedicated himself to his studies and set his sights on becoming a computer engineer.
As the years passed, the shy boy who once worried about fitting in grew into a confident and focused student. His commitment to education paid off when he scored 20 points in his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examinations.
Despite his impressive performance, Reagan never imagined he would be selected for the Equity Leaders Program.
With Wakiso District home to many high-performing schools and outstanding students, he believed his chances of being chosen were very small.
Yet his academic excellence, determination and resilience eventually earned him a place in the prestigious programme, opening the door to new opportunities and bringing him one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming a computer engineer.
