Success Stories
Zakariya
Zakariya lives with his uncle in the Mpape community. He was seven years old when his father died from a motor accident. He could not stay in school then because he was too young to earn money to pay for school fees. He did not understand why his friends went to school and he could not. He asked, “Why me? Why can I not go to school?”
A friend referred him to Gede Foundation. He was interviewed and was found qualified to join the scholarship program. He is now in senior secondary school. He is happy to be able to go to school because he believes that without education, one cannot go anywhere.
He has been a Gede OVC scholar for three years now. He hopes to become a mechanical engineer one day. Maybe he will be one. He is young; he can change his mind. For now, it is enough that he is proud of himself -- because he is one of the best students in school and because he is doing very well there.
Zakariya sees education as a way to help his country, his society, and his family. He considers himself the head of the family now that his father is gone. He is the oldest boy. He helps his mother take care of five other brothers and sisters by doing manual work after school.
Zakariya hopes of becoming something to others -- to help other young African children like him who have become orphans and are vulnerable to all kinds of threats in their communities. He wants to help children like him believe that they have a future.
In becoming something, he will become someone. By believing in himself, he will help others believe in themselves.
