While December 2024 marked a historic first graduation for Amazima, 2025 became the year we focused on what comes next. With a deep commitment to the long-term success of our graduates, the Amazima Futures department launched the first RAMP program, which is designed to keep students supported, connected, and equipped well beyond graduation.
RAMP, aptly named because it is a ramp between secondary school and university, is a 4-month gap program where students learn through internships, academic modules, and community service projects as they apply for universities. The purpose of RAMP is to close the gap between graduates and career professionals while continuing to walk with each student in the next steps of their educational journey. 46 alumni participated in the first RAMP program and one of them was a young man named Mathias.
Building a Foundation
Mathias grew up with four siblings, and his older brother assumed the role of primary provider. Educational opportunities were limited. None of his sisters studied beyond S3 (9th grade), and in his extended family, most ended their schooling at S4 (10th grade). His early years in school were challenging, and even the minimal school fees were a burden. His mother was not working, and his father was unable to meet the family’s needs, which placed a lot of responsibility on Mathias’s brother.
“Life started changing in 2012 when I joined Amazima in primary four [3rd grade],” Mathias says. Beyond academics, he began to see himself and the world in a whole new light. “Amazima became like a family to me,” he explains. “It gave me a big circle of support, influence, and significance.” Mathias was given opportunities to learn, grow, serve, and realize there is a kind God who knows and loves him. It was at Amazima that his faith became personal.
Growing up, church had been routine rather than a conviction for Mathias. “I used to go to church and just play,” he admits. “I didn’t have the strong belief that I have now.” Through his teachers, mentors, and curriculum, Mathias encountered a deeper understanding of grace.
“I am saved by grace,” he says. “There is nothing I can do to earn God’s love. He doesn’t need us—but we need Him.”
Learning to stand on a firm foundation in Christ was what carried him through when even more hardship came. A few years after joining Amazima, Mathias tragically lost his older brother—his primary caretaker and provider. Mathias found himself in a dark valley of grief, and was forced to grow up quickly—it would now be his responsibility to care for the rest of his family.
“I’ve seen him face things that many of us have probably not faced, even in our older age,” Simon Masembe, mentor to Mathias for 10 years, says when reflecting on Mathias’s life. “But I saw him standing strong and remaining a leader in encouraging his peers. He is someone who has fully grown in his walk with Christ.” At a time when he could have given up, Mathias persevered and remained rooted in his faith.
Coming into His Own
Mathias laughingly shares that he is known as “Uncle Mathi” to his friends and fellow students. The name reflects the role he has grown into—steady, trusted, and deeply connected to those around him.
“His life is a true representation of perseverance, faith, and a certain kind of strength that I just really can’t even put words to,” Simon says of his character. “I have seen him fully grow into a young man who is a source of inspiration to those around him.”
Against all odds, Mathias describes himself first as a man of faith. “I am a lover of God, and favored by Him,” he says. “I know that I’m chosen.” Though his childhood is marked with loss and hardship, he knows he is not defined by it, but instead, every part of his story has shaped him into who he is today. “The glory goes back to God, and I thank Amazima for pushing and supporting me because long ago, things were not easy.”
Discovering a Calling
Post-graduation, Mathias began to discover new strengths and his unique design. “I have learned that I can easily influence people,” he says. “Even without a position, through my actions and conduct, the way I treat them, people come closer.” Mathias had always believed he would be in full-time vocational ministry serving as a pastor or street evangelist one day. He had never considered other possibilities for his future.
As part of the RAMP program, students are given internships, where they can further develop their skills and engage their strengths. Assigned to work an internship at a local organization supporting children with disabilities, Mathias felt something in his heart click.
“I just wanted to be a blessing to those people,” he explains. “To be with them,
to hear their stories.”
Mathias thrived during his internship. He learned leadership, teamwork, and discipline at the RAMP and then took those skills to work with him. But the most important thing he walked away with was a new calling. “My internship changed how I see ability, dignity, and purpose,” Mathias recalls. “I learned that children with disabilities are not defined by their limitations, but by their potential, personality, and joy. Being with these incredible children inspired me and helped shape my desire to continue working with children with disabilities in the future.”
Growing up, Mathias had been taught, like many Ugandans, that disabilities came from witchcraft, but being with the beautiful and joyful children with disabilities during his internship opened his heart to a different way of thinking. “I was able to speak into their lives and go into communities to learn what they know about disabilities,” Mathias says.
“Biblically, we are all created in the image of God, and everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities. Being sure of this, it motivates me to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Mathias’s perspective was changed, and he now has a new calling to love and serve those who are disabled, and to help educate others on the value of all people.
While Mathias’s new direction in life may have come as a surprise to him, it wasn’t a surprise to those who know him well. “Mathias has the biggest heart—he loves the Lord and loves serving others,” Ruth Kato, Executive Director of Discipleship, says. “In any space you find Mathias, he will be looking for someone else to bless.”
Through his internship, he was able to uncover new insights about himself and how his unique giftings would direct his future. “When you are in the same place with the same people, it can be hard to discover new things,” Mathias says. “But when you go to a new place with new people, you get to understand, ‘yes, I can do this, yes, this is who I am.’”
A Bright Future Ahead
Today, Mathias is in his second year at Kyambogo University, where he is majoring in community-based rehabilitation. His internship was more than just a gap job; it was also the illumination of what he was meant to do. When thinking back on his life and time at Amazima, he says, “Just know that you have raised someone with influence and purpose.”
“Uncle Mathi’s” story continues to unfold—rooted in faith, shaped by community, and driven by a commitment to give as he has received. “I was nurtured, and I’ve seen a good example, so I will also give,” he says, and quotes Luke 12:48: “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
“He has a full understanding of having joy in suffering,” Mathias’s mentor, Simon, says. “Mathias has had a lot of reasons to be miserable, but he keeps joy. It’s a certain kind of growth that can only come from Christ.” Mathias’s life experience and resulting joy give him the unique ability to empathize with others who must also fight for joy amidst challenging circumstances.
When Mathias looks back, he recognizes how extraordinary his own journey has been. “The fact that I have gone on to university–that is a blessing,” he reflects. “When I look back at my father’s family, I am the only one who is reaching a higher level of education.”
Mathias is just one of 46 stories from the RAMP class of 2025. Each student walked away equipped with new skills, confidence through experience, leadership beyond their years, and for some, a new calling. The impact of this program will continue to multiply year after year, and we are only just getting started.
Mathias has persevered with joy, and we know he will continue to be a blessing to those around him. Through the generosity of our community of ministry partners, Mathias will continue his studies at Kyambogo University, where he is being equipped to serve underserved communities.
“I learned that real impact is not measured in big miracles, but in small steps taken in love,” he says. We cannot wait to see how Mathias’s small steps taken in love will continue to impact his classmates, family, community, and ultimately, his nation.