A Mother's Story: How Read for Rose Impacts the Whole Family
By Annabel Mumba
Annabel Mumba is AYC’s Donor Relations Coordinator in Zambia. She is a Scholarship Fund recipient, high school graduate, and also one of our Success Stories.
Co-written by Pamela O’Brien, African Education Program’s Development Director, who is mentoring Annabel as she pursues a journalism degree.
Christine is the cook for the Read for Rose Special Education Program who is adored by the students and everyone who meets her. In this blog post, we will learn about the spirit of perseverance and how having a strong support system can help one overcome some of life's most difficult challenges. Christine shares with us not just her story, but also the story of her twin children, Linda and Pythias, and her impact on the children for whom she cooks.
Christine was born in 1968 into a family of 15 in a small village in the Mazabuka area, a town in the Southern Province of Zambia. She married young and had ten children, five boys and five girls, with her husband. Her life changed when she gave birth to twins, Linda and Pythias. Linda, unlike her twin brother, was born with a combination of spina bifida and hydrocephalus as a result of birth complications. Her left side is permanently paralyzed and she is confined to a wheelchair. Due to her daughter's condition, Christine spent a lot of time at the hospital because Linda required extensive medical attention. This meant she was away from home for a long time.
Her husband filed for divorce when the twins were six years old and relocated to another village where he remarried and started another family. Following the divorce, Christine and her ten children left their village and relocated to Chirundu, a town located between the Southern Province and Kafue District, where she became a farm caretaker.
Christine met a well-wisher in Chirundu who told her about a school for special children in Kafue where her daughter, Linda, would be accepted and receive an education. This news excited her because she had spent years looking for a school that would accept her child.
Christine and her twin children, Linda and Pythias.
She arrived in Kafue, in the Mtendere Compound, with her daughter on her back in July 2017. After several meetings with the school officials and staff, Linda was enrolled at the Twatasha Special Education Community School. Christine was also asked by the school to become a caregiver to other children that lived in the boarding house. She would receive a monthly salary of K300 ($16.53 USD). Because the school operates as a boarding and day school, Christine and Linda were able to stay in the boarding house together.
From the salary she received each month, Christine still needed to care for her children back in the village and send them upkeep money. It is common in Zambia for older children to take care of their younger siblings and Christine was grateful that her children were able to handle this responsibility while she looked for employment.
Linda and her mother stayed at the school for three years, and it was during that time that she met and became acquainted with Febby Choombe. Febby is the Director of Special Education at the Amos Youth Centre’s Read for Rose Special Education Program. Febby was volunteering at the Twatasha Special Education Community School at the time and quickly became friends with Christine and her daughter.
Mama Christine cooks for the children in the Read for Rose Special Education Program.
Linda was one of the first students to enroll in the Read for Rose Special Education Program when it was launched in 2019. Christine decided to transfer her daughter due to the relationship and trust that she developed with Febby during the brief times they spent together when Febby volunteered at her daughter’s school.
Christine had to look for ways to survive with her daughter after leaving the Twatasha school and no longer having a job working as a caretaker, or she would have to return to the village where the rest of her family was living. She found a job working as a maid and rented a one-room house in Zambian Compound. Pythias, Linda's twin brother, soon came to live with them due to his constant pleading to be reunited with his twin sister and mother.
One morning in October 2019, Christine received a call from Febby asking her to begin working as the cook for the Read for Rose Special Education Program. She describes that day as one that will forever live in her memory. Christine's new job enabled her to send her son to school, rent a decent home, and feed her children without worry.
Christine is more than just a cook at her job. She is also a caregiver for these children, treating them as if they were her own. She prepares nutritious and healthy meals for them every day, she plays with them, and she is in charge of the center when Febby and her assistant, Annie, are away. With her presence, the center has become a second home for the boys and girls who participate in the program.
“I take (in) these children just like the way I look after Linda. To me, it feels like they are all my children. Caring for them gives me so much joy. Through working here, I have been able to discover my purpose in life; I was born to care for these children.”
Christine has also found a support group and a community of women who have gone through similar experiences, which has helped her cope with the challenges of her situation. She feels grateful for the connections she has made and the understanding she has received from these women. She receives encouragement and motivation from these mothers to work hard and move forward in life because the majority of women in the program are single mothers who have had their husbands abandon them due to their children's circumstances. Disability is still considered a curse in many African societies, and children born with special needs are hidden and discriminated against.
Linda and Pythias are now 16 years old and have grown and learned so much, all thanks to the holistic support they are receiving. Linda is now able to read and write well, which she could not do before. She now dictates notes to her friend, Charles, who has a vision impairment. Febby is extremely happy to record such progress and success. The program's skills development program is having a long-term impact on Linda. She has learned to knit and sells doormats to her neighbors. Linda's future independence is assured with this skill. At home, Linda not only assists with gardening, but she has learned how to assist with housework such as sweeping, washing, and tidying up. Christine is very pleased with the progress in her daughter's life and praises the teachers at Read for Rose for helping her daughter gain not only confidence in herself, but important life skills.
Pythias, who is currently in the tenth grade, wants to teach math. He has benefited from each and every program offered by the Amos Youth Center. He is especially appreciative of the tutoring and feeding programs because they both played a part in his outstanding academic success. He received education packs and regular tuition when schools were closed due to the pandemic, which helped him perform well on his grade 9 exams. Pythias’ love for his sister is unmatched, and he has made it his duty to pick her up from the center every day. He stated that he wishes to work hard and achieve success in order to care for his sister. “I want to be able to take care of my sister one day, so I am working very hard at school,” shared Pythias.
Linda helps her mother by packing charcoal into plastic bags.
Christine also sells charcoal and eggs to her neighbors to earn extra income, and Linda and Pythias are in charge of packing the charcoal into plastic bags. She also now lives with two of her grandchildren. As a family of five, they are living a life that they describe as comfortable and happy.
Linda shared, “I enjoy attending Read for Rose a lot because I have so many friends there. Teachers Febby and Annie are very good to me too. I like eating lunch with my friends. My favorite meal is nshima with chicken and vegetables. I want to become a teacher like my brother too!”
Christine's life and that of her childrens’ have been transformed as a result of the Amos Youth Centre’s holistic approach. Both Amos Youth Centre and the Read for Rose Special Education Program focus on supporting the entire family, not just the child who attends our program.
“Here at Read for Rose, we are committed to teaching children so that they can live independent lives and become changemakers for their communities. We do not focus on the disability but on their abilities. The story of Mama Christine and Linda is just one of the many stories that we have recorded. We are happy to see the impact so far. It brings me so much joy to see how far Linda has come, and I know that she will be able to do great things in her life.”
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