Last week, while tagging along on home visits with some of the mentors from the Legacy Scholarship Program, I found that some of the students weren’t home.
“Where are they?” I wondered aloud.
The simple answer? Keeping busy.
Behind everyone Legacy Scholarship Program student is a committed group of parents, guardians, siblings and community members.
When students return to school at the start of February, they will have had two months to celebrate the holidays, review their subjects before start of term exams and, as is encouraged by their mentors, to work on projects developed with their families or communities to help with income and improving their personal skill sets.
Concy, who completed Senior 4 at the end of last term, recently sat for her “O” Level exams. She is waiting for her results before deciding if she will return to school for “A” Levels or if she will pursue another type of vocational or tertiary education.
Her mentor, Evelyn Adong, was excited to see the work Concy’s family has done to support her in starting her own income generating activities during school holidays. While Concy was out working, her family shared how they supported her in developing a small vegetable growing project. She is also working with her brother and sister to make bricks and plans to sell both the vegetables and bricks to members of her community and beyond. The income will help cover additional costs of attending school such as fees for books and personal items.
Akiyu Evaline was also not at home when we arrived. Instead, we spoke with her cousin Patrick. Evaline recently completed Senior 4 at Pabo Secondary School and is also waiting to receive her exam results.
“She wants to be a nurse and plans to take A Level subjects like physics, biology and chemistry,” he said. “She likes helping people and acts as a mentor to younger kids. As a nurse, you can be so caring.”
According to Patrick, Evaline would like to continue with her studies if her scores are satisfactory.
When we arrived at her home, Evaline was at a computer class in town, which is how she has spent much of her time off. Patrick explained that the family has to make financial sacrifices to have Evaline take the course, but that it is important to them that she receives this sort of knowledge in addition to the education she is receiving as a member of the Legacy Scholarship Program.
Think people should hear about this?