I can dream again!
“Travelling from home (Chitungwiza town) with almost no financial resources and most times relying on good Samaritans for transport to the campus, to having an unreliable, old broken laptop towards end of year semester examinations. At one point in my first year in university, I almost quit”, said *Mufaro (*not his real name). Despite coming from a very humble background *Mufaro had always been an outstanding academic student from a young age. “I believe my reason for being was to make an impact and I could only achieve this through studying medicine. I witnessed the poor in my neighborhood struggle to afford health care services and I thought to myself just at 10 years of age that if only I become a medical doctor I’d be able to treat the sick in my neighborhood. Raised by a single mother who struggled to bring food on the table I knew what it was to watch loved ones in pain simply because they could not afford”. “If my sibling had a cough I would be the first to boil guava leaves and administer to them to relieve the cough”. *Mufaro was enrolled through the SOS Children’s Villages Family Strengthening Programme in Chitungwiza and supported with the required resources including tuition fees, he graduated in December 2022 at the age of 24 after 5 years of study. ”I am forever grateful to the goodness of humanity which saw me through. My dream was hanging by a thread but here I am today a qualified medical doctor. WOW! I believe in equality, every child has a right to dream and should therefore be given an opportunity irrespective of their background. I am elated that I am now able to support my siblings achieve their dreams too”, said *Mufaro with tears in his eyes. “Let me conclude by thanking all corporates, individuals and stakeholders who support the cause of SOS Children’s Villages. Let us strive today to make tomorrow a better day. It starts with how we support the disadvantaged”. |