Sebastiana

"It is never too late to start over, for until now, you have done nothing."

One of our components of our Nyenyezi Yowala Fund is reintegration. We Help women and girls who dropped out of the school return to school. Our first opportunity for reintegration was Sebastian. We met Sebastian in September of 2020 when she attended one of our community outreach programs. She had already secured a place at her old school; what was remaining was the funding. A year prior, Sebastian left her abusive marriage with her two kids and moved back with her parents. She had asked her parents to help look after her children as she returned to school. At 32, returning to form one after of being a dropout. Currently, Sebastian just started her form 2 at Chimbalu CDSS in Nambuma. She hopes to go to medical school and become a doctor.

Mother Group

The Lit "Oyaka" Mother Group (LOM Group) is an initiative that brings together community older women (aka mothers) who are trained to mentor and support girls in education by working directly with the girls and their families to address issues preventing girls from staying in the school including early marriages, early and unintended pregnancies, poverty, etc. Members of the LOM Group provide mentorship and life skills to adolescent girls, and advocate for their education (including door to door visits). Our mother group is also working with their trainers to start a small-scale business that will help them and benefit their community and the girls.