Grace is a 15-year old orphan from Zambia. We started to care for her in 2013, she was barely 8 years old, left without parents.
She was not in school as an old grandmother was caring for her in her village and she could never afford the school fees, the uniform, the shoes, etc. We had to send her to grade 1, even though age-wise she was a bit old to do that, but, while this is quite unusual in the developed world, it is very common in Africa.
Often children 12-14 years old are in grade 4 or 5. This is caused by the chaotic school system and the fact that most of these African children come from poor families who just don’t have enough money to keep the kids in school and in hard times, they pull them out so they can work and earn extra money for the family.
Grace showed great interest in school and she improved rapidly. She aced the first 4 grades, went into grade 5 with high marks and she kept up her spotless record all the way through grade 8. All these years she kept improving but making no waves, humble and quiet. We knew she had good marks, but being part of a large number of orphans we were caring for, her quiet demeanor kept her under our radar.
Suddenly, in 2019, when all grade 8 students needed to write an exam for high school, we got a notice from the Education Board of Zambia that Grace scored the highest grades in these exams in the entire province and was offered a place at a very prestigious high school.
We presented this great opportunity to Grace and shockingly she refused it. I couldn’t believe my ears! Why wouldn’t she take this amazing chance? Did we offend her in anyway? Our manager in Zambia went to ask her what was wrong, was she scared? Her answer blew us away:
“I am afraid that if I accept to go to this new school, my sponsors will be disappointed that I leave my village and will not help me anymore”
The poor girl was under the impression that we only sponsor her if she remains in her village… like forever 😊
When we explained that this is absolutely not the case, that the purpose of our help is to see children like her succeed and grow and become the amazing person we always knew she can be, she accepted right away with a shy smile.
For me, this is the core of our movement: find these extraordinary diamonds in the rough, traumatized by events they are not guilty for, living through unspeakable drama, yet in full capacity to not only survive, but become extraordinary human beings.
I can tell you that over my 25 plus years of work worldwide, I found abandoned, exploited and abused children in the most remote places of our planet, who, with proper care, love and patience, became outstanding human beings.
To see that scared little child, left alone to fend for herself, grow into a bright, beautiful, intelligent young girl, who, only by her tenacity, resolve and pure courage scored the highest mark, is the best story of the year.
Want to be a part of a story like Grace’s? Join us, begin the life-changing journey and leave a great legacy behind.
My daughter and I are sponsoring a young lady named Blessing.We are helping to pay for her schooling until she graduates.$150 a year is nothing to us, but it is life changing for these children.You CAN make a difference.