Many children in Malawi have the desire to go to school and get an education. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles that stand in the way of that goal. A few of the biggest obstacles include a lack of food, tuition, school uniform, and shoes. Fatuma, a young girl, was facing these same struggles as she tried to attend school. Her family didn’t have enough food to go around and they didn’t have the money to buy her a school bag and the mandatory school uniform and shoes. Despite these obstacles, though, she continued pursuing an education, doing what she could to make ends meet.
Upon seeing her lack of basic needs as well as her drive for school, Y-Malawi managed to provide some of what Fatuma was lacking. As seen in the photo above, Fatuma received a school bag to carry her books and supplies in, a uniform and shoes to wear to school, and bags of corn flour to prepare food with. The corn flour is used to make nsima which is Malawi’s staple food; these bags of flour are able to sustain Fatuma’s family for quite some time.
It’s incredible that Fatuma continued to strive for her goal to receive an education despite the obstacles that stood in the way. There are many children like Fatuma who want to build a future for themselves, but lack the resources. In providing where we can, Y-Malawi strives to give hope so many more like Fatuma can continue working towards their aspirations. Fatuma demonstrates a great example of perseverance. We can follow her example and do what is instructed in Galatians 6:9 which says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”