Growing up in a poor family from rural Zambia, Mercy had a little chance of escaping extreme poverty. In 2012, she heard about African Vision of Hope, a free school that could offer her a way out and an opportunity to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher. She became a student and graduated high school in 2015, a dream that is only achieved by 8% of Zambian children.

(Pictured, Mercy’s 2012 school photo)

After graduation, Mercy was granted an African Vision of Hope scholarship and earned her diploma in Primary Education.

“After I finished my degree I applied for employment at African Vision of Hope. Now, I currently teach grades 1-4 mathematics and am a class teacher for grade 3. I have always wanted to give back to African Vision of Hope by teaching and now my dreams have been realized. I treat these children as if they were my own; they are my babies.”

As a child of poverty herself, Mercy understands the barriers to education in Zambia because she once struggled against challenges like paying school fees, walking long distances to school, overcrowded classrooms, untrained teachers, and lack of learning materials. She knows that education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its children and in its future sustainability. African Vision of Hope teachers care for their students as if they were their own children: providing guidance, love, and emotional support. These children are vulnerable or orphaned and view their teachers as family.

(Pictured: Many classrooms in Zambia look like this – no actual classroom building, a piece of chalkboard, no real curriculum, and cinderblocks as benches. Because of you, African Vision of Hope students have trained teachers, real classrooms, learning materials, and actual desks.)