WIDNet

FAWEZAs sponsorship programme changing lives

FAWEZA's Sponsorship Programme “The Forum for African Women Educationalists of Zambia (FAWEZA), through funding from US Agencies and the Royal Netherlands, has given a lot of hope for my life. It has enabled me to start thinking big. It has helped me realise that with hard work, anyone can get to the top.” Esther Mwanza was born in 1985 to a single mother who later got married, unfortunately, her stepfather died in a road accident in 1992. She started her grade one in 1993 with support from her mother who was working as a maid and passed her grade seven examinations in 1999. At this level school fees her mother couldn’t pay school fees because she lost her job. Fortunately, the school Head Teacher, Mrs. Inambwae paid for her grade nine examination fees. After passing she worked as a maid to raise money for school necessities. The financial problems worsened at high school. At this point her mother heard about FAWEZA’s sponsorship programme and approached them to sponsor her daughter. FAWEZA accepted and sponsored Easter till she passed her high school exams. Easter had good results again and is currently pursuing a local programme of chartered accountants called National Accounting Technician (NATECH), a certificate course at the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS). Impact of the Sponsorship FAWEZA, through funding from US Agencies and the Royal Netherlands, has given a lot of hope for my life. It has enabled me to start thinking big. It has helped me to realize that with determination and hard work, anyone can get to the top. Apart from the advocacy for the re-entry policy, FAWEZA also has a Sponsorship Programme for underprivileged girls.