The Price of Stones, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
The Price of Stones, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri
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The Price of Stones
Building a School for My Village

Author: Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, Susan Urbanek Linville

Narrator: Richard Allen

Unabridged: 8 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/10/2010


Synopsis

An incredibly inspiring and thrilling book, this is the story of Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, who grew up in rural southwestern Uganda, the son of an irascible small-time farmer and his loving wife. In spite of the family's poverty, Jackson succeeds and graduates from the national university with a calling to work in human rights that leads him to Columbia University. There he falls in love with and later marries an American scientist, Beronda.

When Jackson returns to Uganda with his bride, they are overwhelmed by the many villagers who line up to ask for help with food and school fees—and having lost two siblings to AIDS, Jackson is especially moved by the plight of the thousands of abandoned AIDS orphans in his local district. Impulsively, he and Beronda vow to open the first tuition-free school for orphans. A newlywed with little money, and facing opposition from his domineering father and townspeople, Jackson doggedly builds one schoolroom at a time with the help of many supporters in Uganda and the financial pledges of churches in America, and with the sustenance of his strong faith in Jesus Christ.

Weaving together stories from his youth in Uganda and the remarkable account of how one person with a dream can change lives—both his students' and his supporters'—this is an unforgettable book that demonstrates that one person can be a cup of cold water to a thirsty world. The book concludes with the graduation of the first class of Nyaka AIDS orphans, almost all of whom Jackson and his supporters are sponsoring as they continue their education and dream of becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, engineers, and even, perhaps, the future president of Uganda.

About Twesigye Jackson Kaguri

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri grew up in rural southwestern Uganda, graduated from Makerere University in Kampala, was a visiting scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and has a master's in public administration from Indiana University. In Uganda, Kaguri cofounded Human Rights Concerns to help victims of human rights violations. Later, he served as a programs assistant for People's Decade for Human Rights Education. Currently the associate director of development at Michigan State University, he is the founder and director of the Nyaka and Kutamba Schools for HIV/AIDS Orphans in Uganda.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kathrina on August 20, 2010

I'm so glad that Mr. Kaguri happened to walk into my store when I was around. I'm so glad he asked to sign stock, and I'm so glad I had some for him to sign. I'm so glad I read his book the very next day, and I'm so glad he promised to swing through my store again next week on his return. Everything......more

Goodreads review by Margo on June 30, 2017

What an inspirational story about the difference one person can make in a community. I really enjoyed this book about a Ugandan graduate student in the US who takes it upon himself to build a school for orphans in his rural Ugandan community.......more

Goodreads review by June on October 04, 2011

The cover photo for this book is lovely - smiling, joyous children running, and the background is composed of green beautiful hills. Hard to believe these children are orphans, victims of HIV/AIDS. This is one of those incredible true stories of a person who saw a need and vowed to do what he could......more

Goodreads review by Liza on October 11, 2019

This is an incredible true story, that shows how much a single person can do to change the world. Kaguri, which is a native Ugandan, changed the lives of many children, orphans, victims of HIV/AIDS, and building a tuition-free school for them was just the first step of what he did. He opened their e......more

Goodreads review by Fatima A. on November 26, 2022

Have you ever read a book that leaves you overwhelmed with so many emotions that you end up hugging the book?! That’s basically what happened to me! Throughout the book, I’ve read chapters that left me heartbroken with teary eyes, while others warmed my heart so much that I smiled SO big until my fa......more