Anna Maponya (LSZ-011)

My name is Anna Maponya and I was born June 19, 2000. I live in Lukata Village, which is about 25km from Lusaka town off the Great North Road. I stay with my mother and father and I have five siblings. My parents are peasant farmers and my siblings and I help out at home whenever we can. I help with drawing of water, caring for my younger siblings, picking firewood. I help out with cooking for the family and also help my parents sell vegetables at the roadside. When I was in grade 7 I had to stay away from school because my parents could not afford to pay for my fees, my father is a peasant farmer and my mother a small business women who sells my father’s produce by the road side. I stayed home for about 3 year and my parents decided to find me a man to marry because there was no hope of me attending school again. I was young and not ready for the roles and responsibilities that come with marriage. When LifeSavers came to Lukata, I had the opportunity to have an encounter with them and they offered me an opportunity to come back to school and have an education. They taught us through counselling about the importance of school and the consequences of early marriage. I am now in grade nine (9) and it is through LifeSavers that I feel determined and I want to become a teacher because I feel I can help other girls faced with similar situations like I was. I would like to extend my gratefulness to the people of LifeSavers for the encouragement and help through sponsoring my school.