A Love for Education

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Cindy (center) and her friends, Precious and Exildah. (Photo: Courtesy CAMFED/Jaimie Gramston 2006)

Cindy is 13 years old. She lives in a village in rural Zambia (southern Africa). Her best friends are Precious and Exildah and she dreams of becoming a lawyer.

“I decided when I was young that I wanted to be a lawyer. In the courtroom, you are fighting for justice, not just for one person but for all. That’s why I want to be a lawyer.”

Cindy’s exuberance and optimism are remarkable. By the time she was three, both her father and her mother had died. The aunt who took care of her died five years later. Since then she has lived with her grandmother.

All the research tells us that children’s emotional health can survive loss, provided someone takes responsibility for their care, not out of duty but out of love. Cindy is very clear that she has been loved throughout her life, and with this love she has been able to overcome the challenges.

In Cindy’s school of 1,700 children, more than 500 girls and boys are orphans, a tragedy that will be compounded if those of us living in relative security don’t act to give children the education they need. The love of grandmothers and other guardians can’t pay school costs when subsistence farming provides so little income.

Cindy is just one of the thousands of girls who are supported through school by a relief organization called The Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED). She has the determination and capability to succeed and to become a lawyer.

“I am studying hard to go to a good high school,” she says. “I would like to go to a school where they teach very well so I can focus on my studies.”

There are thousands more girls like Cindy across rural Africa. They have the potential to fulfill their dreams and escape a life of rural poverty.

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