We have just received more stunning news from Kantolomba—100% of the Living Compassion girls who sat for their national grade seven exams made it to grade eight. We often say it because it is often true: This is a moment to stop, pause and breathe in the miracle and goodness of that!
Many of these girls were among the first 100 children in the Living Compassion program. They were three and four and five years old when we first met them. According to the statistics of that time, we should have lost most of them by now. Many would have died, a great many would have been married and had children, and most of the rest would have dropped out of school for lack of funds. Clean water and access to health care have completely turned around child mortality rates. While the rate of dropout for girls is still much too high, there is a group of girls who have made it. We are so deeply grateful. They are heroes!
“Mama Cheri,” as Cheri is called in Kantolomba, had an insight when we realized we wanted to support these girls to jump the hurdles in front of them and to increase the numbers of girls who follow. That insight? Employ them! When we travel to Zambia later this month, we will start a pilot program with 25 girls who are the pioneers of a new generation of women in this community. They are the girls, now young women, who have beaten the odds and shown incredible determination. They are now going to be fully financially supported, including earning a stipend to take care of their personal needs, to remain in school, pass their exams, finish through grade twelve, and go on to either learn a trade or enter university, being mentored the whole way. Not a single girl comes from a family where her parents have done this.
The magnitude of this is best illustrated by Theresa’s response to the idea: This is exciting and my heart is leaping with joy after reading what you have sent me, Mama Cheri. Sorry, a tear just rolled down my face, do not worry it’s a tear of joy. Thank you so much for saying yes to these 25 girls! Though challenging I’m ready to give this program my all and I know my team here will be ecstatic when I share this with them.
We all have a giant challenge in front of us—girls, Theresa, the Sangha who will lend support—but that just means a whole lot of fun. This team has proven we can do whatever we set our hearts to!
Please join us on our trip by reading the blogs. We hope to be posting the first blogs in the last days of January.
In Gassho,
Jen