Education empowers a woman: “I am a voice for other girls”
On the accession of International Women’s Day 2023, we at Windle Trust International would like to celebrate Jackline Pido, a South Sudanese refugee living and working in Khartoum, Sudan. Jackline caught up with Mr. David Masua the Windle Trust International’s Executive Director in Khartoum and she talked about what her UNHCR/DAFI Windle Trust International scholarship has done to transform her life as a woman and a refugee.
Jackline Pido, Windle Trust International alumnus and licensed physiotherapist in Khartoum, Sudan
Jackline lives with her family in Khartoum. She completed her secondary school, but said that her father, a pensioner, could not support her to enrol in university. She managed to register and support herself through her first year at the university, but was quickly set to drop out at the end of it. Thanks to an announcement by Windle Trust International about new placements on the DAFI scholarships scheme for Sudan in 2015 she was able to apply for and then secure the scholarship. This allowed her to continue with her bachelor’s degree, studying Physiotherapy at Ahfad University for Women, Khartoum. She is grateful to Windle Trust International for the DAFI scholarship which paid her tuition fees, accommodation and upkeep while at university. With that, Jackline said she was able to concentrate on her studies and stopped worrying about dropping out until she graduated in 2019.
Upon her graduation, although a refugee in Sudan, Jackline was determined to make a difference. She believes in helping people and, as a physiotherapist, knows that her profession is to help those who have lost hope. Jackline embarked upon looking for a job, but needed a license to practice as a Physiotherapist. She went to the Sudanese National Council for Medical and Health Professions to apply for a license, but was told that because she was a refugee and a foreigner, she needed to pay the fees in dollars.
With no money after her graduation, Jackline contacted the Commission of Refugees in Khartoum who gave her a letter which showed that she is not a foreigner, but a refugee and refugees have the same status as Sudanese nationals. Armed with the letter, Jackline’s application was finally accepted. She was given a professional examination which she took and passed and was licensed as a physiotherapist in Sudan, ending a one-year process. Although a refugee, with her license Jackline has been in employment as a professional physiotherapist in Khartoum for close to three years now.
On this International Women’s Day, Windle Trust International would like to celebrate Jackline, not just as our alumnus, but as a determined young woman who has decided not to look at the challenges that surround her.
She told us that her education empowered her to look for solutions and not let challenges break her spirit to make a difference, and to inspire her youngest sister to stick with her education. She said that her education empowered her to be a voice to young girls, to think beyond just being a wife and a mother, but to think of themselves as human beings who have potential to change their society.
Jackline Pido supporting a patient during a physiotherapy session
Jackline, we at Windle Trust International are proud of you, your achievements, your contribution, to the Sudanese community, and that your status as a refugee has not hindered you. We celebrate you on this International Women’s Day.
Windle Trust International have supported thousands of young women through undergraduate education and reach tens of thousands each year through our Access to Education and Quality Education programmes. This article forms part of series of articles published to celebrate International Women’s’ Day 2023 and you can learn more by reading:
“The Women of Windle” - a profile of four impactful female alumni of the Windle Trust International Postgraduate Programme and the work that they now do.