Four Stories of Impact
By Annabel Mumba
Annabel Mumba is AEP’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, AEP’s Development Director, who is mentoring Annabel as she pursues a journalism degree.
The Scholarship Program creates opportunity for our Mwalii Leaders (girls and boys and young women and men) to access all of the after-school programs, including quality academic tutoring and leadership development, offered at the African Education Program’s (AEP’s) flagship Learning & Leadership Center in Kafue, Zambia. Between 2007 and 2021, over 3,000 annual scholarships have been awarded at the Amos Youth Centre (AYC), enabling nearly 500 youth to complete secondary school and 100 to obtain diplomas and degrees. 2021 is the last year Zambian secondary schools had mandatory fees. Currently, over 1,000 kids ages 5 to 25 are in the AEP “program” with 35 college and university students working towards a diploma. There are 54 young women and men in the College Prep Program ready to take the next big step of their journey too.
“Twataizya sana, kuli ya Amos Youth Center pakusambilisha mwanane, Tumaikala ninigo lyene (which translates to) “We thank you very much Amos Youth Centre for educating my child, we will live a better life now.”
The impact that the Scholarship Program has had in the lives of the youth is profound. These scholarships have not only been life-changing, but bring hope for every young person and their family. That is why we would like to share with you four of our Mwalii Leaders and their stories: Moses, an alumni of the program who is also a university graduate, sisters Nanima and Shalini, and Emmanuel, a student from the Rural Outreach Program. But these are not the only lives and stories as many more remain to be told.
Let’s begin with Moses. Moses entered the Scholarship Program at the age of 15. He was a teenager desperate for a brighter future, wanting to complete his studies and uplift his family from their impoverished situation. Moses’ father was the families’ only provider who relied on part-time jobs to sustain the needs of a growing family of seven. Moses had just passed his grade 9 exams and it appeared to be the end of the educational road for him. His family could not afford the secondary school fees that were mandated by the government. A friend told him about AYC and he quickly applied for sponsorship. The application process includes a home visit, a school visit, along with a written application and interview. Moses was excited to be awarded a scholarship the following year in 2013 and was amazed to discover that he could gain more than just financial support. The Nutrition Program provided him with a full and nutritious meal, which was often hard to come by at home and most days this would be his only substantial meal.
Moses and his mother smile for the camera.
Moses, AEP university graduate and alumni
Moses was the only one in his family to reach 10th grade at the time, his older sister had to drop out of school in 7th grade because their parents could not afford her secondary education. When Moses received his sponsorship he was also provided accommodations at AYC’s boarding house due to challenges that he faced while living at home where he had a hard time concentrating on his studies.
In secondary school, students receive very little guidance on how to prepare for college or university. As a part of the College Prep Program at AYC, specific college and university preparatory classes for students during their gap year focus on areas like career guidance and college choices, academic writing, note taking, budgeting, study habits, healthy relationships, and other needed life-skills. The program includes guest speakers, a field trip to a university, and leadership development.
Thanks to this program, in 2017, Moses applied and was accepted at Zambia’s second highest learning institution, the Copperbelt University. He pursued a Bachelor of Science (B.C.S) in Fisheries and Aquaculture, a career choice that was highly influenced and inspired by AYC’s feeding program and the country’s lack of food security. His dream is to strengthen Zambia’s food security across the nation.
Moses is now a university alumnus who continues to be a role model and mentor to the younger students at AYC. He is not the only one whose life has been transformed but that of his family too. Moses’ parents are happy to witness one of their children graduating from college and working towards ending the cycle of poverty that has been in the family for a long time.
The next story is one of two sisters, Nanima and Shalini, who have seen their lives transformed by the Scholarship Program. Nanima was 13 years old and a grade 8 student when she was introduced to the Scholarship Program. She was motivated to join the program by her younger sister, Shalini, who spent most of her time at the center after school. Her sister was not the only motivation. Her family’s financial situation was an added motivator. Their parents did not attain any formal training and mainly depend on their father, who is a bricklayer, and their mother, who has a seasonal business selling household supplies.
Nanima found the programs offered at the center empowering as they helped her build self-esteem. The One Up for Girl Power Club was her favorite as she learned topics that still help her to navigate womanhood. Upon completion of her secondary education, Nanima decided to give back to the center by tutoring the younger students. She gave motivational talks to the young girls encouraging them to work hard, push their limits and finish school. It was during this time that the opportunity of being a peer educator showed itself.
Now at the age of 18, Nanima is a peer educator and facilitator through the Gold Youth Development Agency, one of AYC’s many partners in Zambia who engage youth in leadership and character development. She was among the three students that were selected to be trained. This new venture for Nanima also proved to be a financial and career choice breakthrough. She has decided that when time comes she wants to study social work and continue to impact communities and young girls lives and urge them to achieve their dreams.
On the other hand, Shalini, Nanima’s younger sister, completed her secondary education last year and has also decided to give back at the center as an active member of the College Prep Program. This 16-year-old is vibrant and full of energy. She started her journey with AYC when she was in grade 7 and only 10 years old at the time. She was motivated by her friends who invited her to come and learn with them at the youth center after school. In grade 8, she received her first scholarship and her life was changed forever as she didn’t have to worry about paying school fees. She shared that the organization has helped her to discover herself and her dreams.
Nanima and Shalini with their parents and siblings at their home in Kalundu View
AEP’s holistic programs are indeed empowering families and ending the cycle of poverty that has haunted many families in Kafue for years, especially in most of the remote areas where you find many of Zambia’s low income earning households and families. AEP created the Rural Outreach Program to provide the most marginalized girls and boys from the fishing village of Chanyanya access to high school and after-school programs at AYC. Chanyanya is located about 16 miles from Kafue on the river and it is known for its fishing and farming activities. Education in Chanyanya ends in 9th grade unless a family has the resources to have their children attend school in Kafue. This program transformed Emmanuel’s life.
Emmanuel learned about the Rural Outreach Program just after he passed grade 8. He wanted to continue his schooling but realized there were few options available to him in Chanyanya. His family could also not afford the secondary school fees.
Being the last born in a family of 13 children from parents who depend on fishing and subsistence farming for a living was not easy. Emmanuel’s brother was the only one among his siblings to have completed secondary school but he decided to join his parents in fishing. Emmanuel continued to receive sponsorship and completed high school in 2020. Since then, he has continued to volunteer at AYC. Earlier this year Emmanuel was among the three students that received an opportunity to be trained as a peer educator with the Gold Youth program. Emmanuel has also been hired as a guard at AYC’s Read for Rose Special Education Program center, thus providing him with a place to stay since he has no relatives that live close by.
Emmanuel wants to study clinical medicine and further elevate his life and that of his family. He has become a role model not only to the younger students in the program, but also to his family as his siblings and parents look up to him to change their story.
Emmanuel, AEP high school graduate and alumni
There remain more stories from the young people who have seen their lives transformed like this young storyteller whose words you read. AEP’s holistic development model has proved to its success in the lives of the young people in Kafue and they will tell you it is a miracle and a blessing that has proved to help families and youth from their impoverished situations.
For more information on the Scholarship Program and how you can get involved, visit: https://www.africaneducationprogram.org/scholarship-fund