Sponsor Francine's High School Education in Zambia

Francine has completed her first year at Chaol Trust and begun Grade 9 in January.  Below is some additional information about Francine.

Family: Francine lives with her single mother and three siblings in Chunga. Her parents were never legally married, and her father left for Botswana many years ago, leaving the family to fend for themselves. However, Francine’s uncle is active and supportive in her life, and was present at the home interview. For a while, this uncle allowed Francine to live with his family and took care of her to help support the family. However, when he divorced his wife, he also began to struggle and Francine had to return to her mother. When he can, the uncle still contributes to the family financially, around 300 kwacha ($50)/ month. Francine’s mother sells fritters (small baked goods) on the road, which makes about 450 kwacha ($70)/month.

They own a home with seven rooms, however they divided the house to be able to make rental income. Their tenant pays the family 300 kwacha ($50)/month, which helps pay for electricity and food for the family. Her older brother and sister are both attending secondary school, and her younger sister is in Grade 6 at Diana Kaimba primary school. They don’t have running water but pay their neighbors to be able to use their well.

Education: Francine has managed the transition from primary school to Chalo very well, and her academic performance has been great. In Term I, Francine received 486 points and ended up fourth in her class. She followed up this encouraging start by improving her Term II scores to 499 points and retaining her position as the fourth-best in class, with two fellow KF scholars above her. Her principal wrote, “Francine’s excellent attitude is reflected in the work she does.” Another teacher commented, “Francine is an enthusiastic learner who tackles new challenges eagerly and with a positive attitude.”

Francine also cares deeply about her fellow students. She told us, “I motivate my friends by encouraging them to study extra hard to improve their performance at school. We have taken the initiative to form study groups, which has made us improve tremendously in all the subjects.”

Francine did very well at Chalo Trust in her first year.  Her grades for term 3 are attached.  

KF Involvement: During the term holidays, Francine has volunteered at Breath of Heaven a local orphanage. At the orphanage, Francine has taught math and other subjects to the young kids. She feels that community service is very important because “as an individual you need to have a heart for others and learn to give back to the community.”

Extracurricular Interests: Francine is a very talented athlete and is involved in all the sports activities at Chalo. She has earned a gold medal for her performance in a running competition held in Ndola earlier this year. She also enjoys playing netball and football and serves as a group leader for the school athletics. She says that playing on the school team has taught her to work together with teammates to “create ownership for us to succeed and achieve our goals as a team.” Francine is also a member of Jets, a science and math club at Chalo. In Jets, Francine carries out
different science projects and gets together with club members for additional study outside class.

Francine’s Thoughts: Francine hopes to go to university and study medicine. Her ultimate goal is to become a doctor “because I would like to be always there for others to complement what I have achieved at KF.” Reflecting on the impact of the KF scholarship, Francine wrote to her sponsor, “You have lifted me from grass to grace. The sponsorship has really helped us in such a way that is beyond human words. It has really given my family a sigh of relief. We are now able to have three meals per day a thing, which we never dreamed.” She says that the scholarship motivates her to work extra hard so as not to squander the opportunity she’s been given.

• Francine's Term 3 Grades (PDF)