LET WORDS TAKE ACTION GRADUATE STUDENT ADOPTS CHILDREN AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 20 WORDS Katie L/1/'est I I PHOTOS A bigail Cooper Anitha Kobusingye, a counseling graduate student originally from Rwanda, lost her parents when she was a baby. After spending time in an orphanage, a foster home and on the streets, she was adopted at the age of 10. "I am a firm believer that every bad thing that happens in life comes with a blessing attached to it," Kobusingye said. Despite the struggles of her childhood, Kobusingye focused on the blessings of life. "It was difficult but it came with a thousand blessings attached to it," Kobusingye said. One of those blessings was her mentor Larry Bone, who met Kobusingye in January 2010 during_ her first month in the U.S. Bone said after Kobusingye received her undergraduate degree from Harding, she was completely on her own in the U.S. "We jokingly call her Anitha Kobusingye Bone now," Bone said. "In essence, we have adopted her into our family." Bone noted how much Kobusingye had grown through her first years in the U.S., but not without support. "She is successful due to her self-motivation, not as the results of pressure from others," Bone said. "Her maturity has developed and she is now a woman with high goals and the credibility to back up her dreams and achieve her goals." According to Bone, Kobusingye's biggest motivation was her desire to take care of her 12 adopted children, who stayed in Rwanda with their nanies while Kobusingye was studying in the U.S. Kobusingye adopted the children eight years ago, while she was in high school. At 20 years old, she became a single mom of her children. "I decided that I was going to adopt them because that's the best way I could feel like I was putting a smile on God's face," Kobusingye said. While doing graduate work for her degree in professional counseling, Kobusingye was guided by Dr. Jenene Alexander, director of professional counseling. "We are delighted to have Anitha as a graduate student in professional counseling," Alexander said. "She is a dedicated graduate student and brings a strong sense of purpose and service coupled with cultural perspectives from her unique background experiences." Alexander also saw how Kobusingye's graduate work would help her after she completed her degree. "There are countless ways in which Anitha will use her clinical training to benefit her future work in Rwanda," Alexander said. "She will take herself, her story, her training and her love for the children to continue impacting others in ways we can only begin to see at this moment." w .....J Q_ 0 w Q_ N 00 I Anitha Kobusingye is a graduate student in the university's professional counseling master's program in fall 2017. At the age of 20, Kobusingye adopted 12 children in Rwanda, becoming a single mom.// Photo by Abigail Cooper
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