By ANNIE ZULU
“An opportunity to education is the best gift that I have ever received”, say Beauty Chitengi 19, a beneficiary of the Keeping Girls in School (KGS) Programme from Lufwanyama District.
Beauty, recalls how she almost dropped out of school and her future looked uncertain in 2018, when she was in Grade 10.
Her mother who was divorced and could hardly provide food for Beauty and her two siblings, could no longer afford to pay for her school expenses.
“Life became so hard that sometimes we went go to bed without food and I was almost dropping out of school, because there was no free education then and things were tough for my mother,” she said.
However, help came right on time for Beauty as she was considered for the Keeping Girls in School Programme and her mother put on the Social Cash Transfer Programme.
According to her, the KGS programme changed her life and made her realise that every dream is attainable with education.
“With the help I received on the programme, I successfully completed high school in 2020 and did well in my exams. I now can be whoever I want and my desire is to go to University and became a Clinical Officer, as I am passionate about saving lives and I don't think I would have all these aspirations without education,” she said.
She further implored Government to consider extending the KGS programme to tertiary education level, so that many girls can attain tertiary education.
Meanwhile, Community Development and Social Services Minister Honourable Doreen Mwamba has reassured that Government will continue to prioritize girl`s education through various programmes.
Ms. Mwamba noted that education is every child's right and that every girl child deserves the opportunity to receive one.
“Education enables economic independence for girls and also empowers them with the necessary knowledge to effectively oppose oppressive norms that perpetuate different forms of violence against them. The New Dawn Government is therefore committed to ensuring that girl child education is prioritized,” Ms. Mwamba said.
Keeping Girls in School (KGS) is a component of the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) project being implemented by Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and other line Ministries.
The World Bank-funded project promotes adolescent girls’ access to secondary education and supports women’s empowerment and livelihoods initiatives in Zambia.
