New Year – New Opportunities

The new year began with great momentum. Every start of the year in Zambia is intense: new pupils are enrolled. Students seize the new opportunities to build a ‘future through education’. FCTrelief promotes and supports them.

Gordon Merk

New Students (from left to right): Evelyn, Francis, Monica, Moses

New Pupils

Last year, we had six ‘Grade 12’ school leavers. Joanne and Isaac were the best, with Joanne even achieving top marks in all subjects! Winter, Isaac and Trust will work on the farm for a year and focus on their next steps for the future. It’s a kind of gap year. Moses did this last year – and built up his muscles. Now he is starting a degree at the ‘University of Zambia’ (see below).

FCTrelief Zambia was able to accept 17 new pupils into the tuitions programme. Daniel is new to the programme. He is the younger brother of Isaac Zulu, who is studying civil engineering. Francis’ younger brother is also already in the programme, as is Winter’s little sister. FCTrelief is a big family and helps both individuals and families. All of this is very gratifying and makes a constructive difference in the lives of these people. New year – new opportunities!

Five of the new pupils with new shoes

Two of the school leavers from George Compound are now at the ‘Vocational Training Institute’ in Chikupi. Jordan and Mark are motivated to seize this opportunity. Mark is learning agriculture. Jordan is training to become an electrician. As was the case for Ruth, Ackim and James last year, this type of training provides practical skills that can be applied immediately. Qualified training opens doors to employment and self-sufficiency.

Mark and Jordan at the Vocational Training Institute at Chikupi

New Students

A new chapter in life is beginning for four talented and intelligent young people. Monica has secured a place at ‘Cavendish University’ to study finance and banking. Her career path from very difficult circumstances is admirable. She passed her Grade 12 with very good grades. She is looking forward to the next four years with confidence. She is motivated and wants to seize the opportunity she has been given and make the most of it. New year – new opportunities!

More good news from the two other students at ‘Cavendish University,’ Mable and Violet, is that they were among the best in their first year of study! In their Clinical Medicine programme, all students are divided into three different levels after their first year together. Students with the highest grades are given the opportunity to study medicine. Mable and Violet have been chosen for this. This has exceeded both their and our expectations. We are proud of them. The hard work of these special young ladies has paid off. They want to seize this opportunity and take up the challenge. They know it won’t be easy. Studying medicine also takes two years longer, so it is more expensive. Thanks to generous sponsors, money should not be the reason why they are denied this opportunity.

From left to right: Violet, Monica and Mable

Moses and Francis were among the top graduates and earned a place at the ‘University of Zambia’ (short: UNZA). They are highly motivated to write their own success stories. Edward already started there last year. These three brilliant young men now live together and encourage and support each other. FCTrelief is proud of them all for seizing the opportunity they have been given.

Evelyn has started her training in hospitality and hotel management at ‘Fairview College.’ Abigail started there last year. She is helping Evelyn find her feet. The two also live together. They are staying with Caroline, a long-standing partner of FCTrelief, who bakes breakfast rolls for the students every day, week after week. Abigail and Evelyn are in good hands with her. Evelyn’s mother is proud of her daughter and thanks FCTrelief for this opportunity. New year – new opportunities!

The new year also brings new opportunities for all other students. The young men studying at Nortec are getting closer and closer to graduation. Christopher and Kelvin have made a good start in Kabwe, where Jonathan is already in the final stages. At ‘Makeni College of Nursing,’ Mary and Gertrude are almost halfway through their training. Goodson, Dorothy and Idah have completed the first stage. Esnart and Priscilla are helping out as best they can to support them and are looking for jobs themselves. They all support each other and are role models for each other, as well as for all the pupils on the plot. This is a crucial element of our vision.

Evelyn with her Mother

Vision and Goal

Those who have known FCTrelief for some time know that our core work is supporting schoolchildren. The goal is to help them thrive academically and develop healthily. The opportunity of vocational training and higher education after Grade 12 has naturally developed in recent years, because supporting good students is the next logical step after they have completed their schooling successfully. In Western countries, this is all taken for granted. But in Zambia, it is often not easy or even possible. For children from poor backgrounds, attending university usually remains just a dream. A dream that is often not even encouraged in their environment. At FCTrelief, we inspire young people to make more of their lives. We encourage them to discover that there is more to them than they think.

The vision is to support children and young people in their education. The good results and encouraging progress in vocational training and higher education in recent years have only been possible thanks to a solid foundation. Both come from our teaching and input on the plot. Day after day and week after week, our teachers invest themselves in the students. Twice a month, Gordon and Elvira encourage everyone at the youth meetings. They teach good values and successful principles so that the young people are comprehensively educated, can imagine and build a future, and have the necessary character to achieve all this.

At the start of the year, we look ahead with confidence to the year ahead and will continue to pursue the goals of our vision. School pupils and students are seizing the new opportunities that the new year brings. For members and sponsors, the new year brings new opportunities to do good. New year – new opportunities!

Heartfelt Thanks!

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