The following are sample stories of our sponsored girls over the past years.

Bangladesh

Arora is the only child in her family. Her father is separated from the family. Arora's mother works as an attendant in a technical institute and earns a very poor salary which is impossible to provide for the family's education and living expenses. Arora's uncle assisted by paying for Arora's school, however, this was not enough and the uncle had his own family to look after. With CCLEF sponsorship, Arora is able to attend school and hopes to become a teacher so that she can serve her country in the education sector.

Belize

Tanisha comes from a family of six. Her older brother has a brain tumour and is disabled. He is quadriplegic. Tanisha's parents struggled to send the rest of the children to school to provide all their basic education needs. Tanisha continues to work hard despite the hardships she faces. Her ambition is to become a nurse so that she can help her family and those in need of help. Sponsorship has helped Tanisha in her quest for a better life for herself and her family. She is now able to concentrate on her studies and is confident that she will do well.

Cameroon

Christy struggled through her primary school and when she passed to go to secondary school, there was no one to help pay the school fees. Her mother managed to pay half of the first term’s school fees by borrowing from people and selling food stuffs from the farm. Sponsorship has now enabled Christy to board and concentrate on her studies. She is usually in the top 5 of her class. Christy hopes that one day she will go to University and become a medical doctor.

Ghana

Hilda lives with her parents. She is the second born in a family of three children. Hilda’s mother is unemployed and her father’s salary is too small to take care of the family. Hilda is described as hardworking, intelligent and respectful. She always wants to be the best despite the hardship she faced in the past. Hilda wants to become a chartered accountant when she completes school.

Grenada

Aldena is described as a hardworking, ambitious and dedicated student. At a very young age, she lost her father and is currently residing with her mother who is unemployed. It is difficult for her family.

India

Sangeetha comes from a family of seven girls. Her father is a daily wage labourer with very poor income. He was very reluctant to send Sangeetha to do her Higher Secondary School course, but Sangeetha was insistent that she needed the education. She did odd jobs like washing people's clothes and cleaning homes, just to earn enough to go to school. With sponsorship, she does not need to worry about work to raise money for school fees or books. Sangeetha continues working hard. Her class average in five subjects is 75%.

Jamaica

Shanae lives with her mother and younger brother. Her mother is employed in a seasonal profession and struggles to provide for Shanae's educational costs from her irregular income. Shanae's father does not play a role in her life. Shanae is described as mature, diligent, positive and cordial student. Her keen and focussed approach has allowed her to attain high academic results in spite of the challenges she faces. Shanae has twice been awarded Certificates of Excellence as well as a Certificate of School Citizenship. She is an active member of the Drama Club, the Modern Languages Club and the Tourism Action Club. She has held the position of Vice Form Captain. Shanae wants to work in the medical field when she completes school.

Kenya

Elishaba is a second born in a family of five. The first of her siblings recently completed secondary school while the rest are in primary school. Although her parents are employed, their salaries are very low and Elishaba finds it difficult to pay school fees on time. Her father has taken over the responsibility for his sister's family, where both parents died and left the children orphans. Elishaba's father now looks after two families. Despite these challenges, Elishaba continues to work hard at school. She has won awards in various subjects and was top of her class scoring an average of 82% in eleven subjects. Elishaba's desire is to save lives. She wants to become a neurosurgeon in future. She is inspired by one of the world's renowned neurosurgeons, Dr Ben Carson.

Lesotho

Tsepiso recently completed her junior certificate level, obtaining first class. She lives with her parents and two siblings. During her junior secondary, Tsepiso was struggling to pay her schools fees on time. Her parents have two other children who also need schools fees and other basic needs. With sponsorship in place, Tsepiso is able to study without worrying about school fees or books. She has continued to be top of the class with an average 74% grade in nine subjects.

Malawi

Pirirani lost her father when she was in standard five. Her grandfather, who is a farmer, took Pirirani and brought her up. He does not have enough money to educate Pirirani and take care of his family. Despite her difficulties in primary school, Pirirani has worked hard and was happy to be selected to go to secondary school. She enjoys science and mathematics. Fortunately, with sponsorship, Pirirani will be able to achieve her ambition of becoming a nurse when she completes school.

Namibia

Memory recently moved to a new school. She is an orphan and both parents passed away in 2001. Memory lives with her aunt in a small village to the South-East of Windhoek. The aunt unfortunately lost her job at the end of 2012. Since then, she has been looked after by the wife of one of her other uncles. Unfortunately the uncle's wife cannot always fully support her. The school assisted Memory with uniforms and accommodation in a hostel near her secondary school, however Memory still needs school fees, books and clothes. The Education Fund has offered her a grant and now Memory hopes to finish school and study Law.

Pakistan

Nosheen lives with her parents and two brothers in a rented house. Her father works in the general post office while her mother is a housewife. Nosheen's two elder brothers are studying in a college. Her father is the only one to support them. She was unable to secure the funds for the basic school needs until the Fund assisted her. Nosheen achieved 73% in the School final exams. She is very ambitious and wants to pursue her studies in science.

Papua New Guinea

Annabelle is in her final two years in secondary school. Her ambition is to become a doctor. She has two older siblings while her widowed mother also cares for a "guardian" son. Her mother works at the local express mail office but cannot afford to educate all her children. They reside in the city in a three bedroomed house with two other families and it is difficult for Annabelle to study at home. With sponsorship, Annabelle is now in a boarding school and is able to concentrate on her studies without worrying about the time or space to study.

Rwanda

Marie Angel was abandoned by her parents when only a month old. She was raised by her grandparents. Her grandfather died in 2005, and the grandmother sold a piece of land to get Marie Angel started in a school but was unable to continue to support her in her old age. Angel is an intelligent girl whose studies were affected by her constant absence from school. With sponsorship, Marie Angel has continued school and will soon complete her secondary school. She wants to become a teacher.

Samoa

Hana lives with her parents, three sisters and four brothers. The eldest daughter is currently studying at the National University of Samoa. Her two other brothers are at college. Two children are in primary school while the other two live at home as they are infants. Hana's father is unemployed and her mother works at the government's ministry. The family was struggling financially because the mother had to pay the loans. Hana is a science student and with sponsorship in place, she hopes to becocme a doctor and specialise in the arthritic area.

Sierra Leone

Justine P lives with her mother and two siblings. Her father had a stroke and is bed ridden, so the sole responsibility to take care of the family fell on Justine's mother. With no income coming in to the family, Justine nearly dropped out of school. She is grateful that the Fund was able to "rescue" her so that she can continue school and become a lawyer.

Sri Lanka

Ashini lives with her parents. Her mother is a housewife, while her father works in a packaging section in a factory. His monthly salary is not enough to cover their living costs. Ashini has a brother who is studying for his O Levels. Though she has to face a lot of economic problems, Ashini is doing very well in her studies. She enjoys sciences and hopes to become a teacher when she completes school. She is described as hard working and disciplined in her studies. She is always at the top of the class (number one out of 44) with an average mark of 80% in 12 subjects and 93% in sciences.

St. Kitts

Reanda is the second child of a hard working single parent who has always encouraged and supported the family. Her goals is to become a professional athlete and also plans to pursue a career in education to fulfil her desire of becoming a trained teacher. Reanda believes that being a teacher would allow her to give back to the community and bestow what was taught to her by others. Although Reanda's father is not as active as he should be in her life, he tries to provide additional support to her mother whenever he can. Reanda surrounds herself with confident friends and constructive activities.

St.Lucia

Mahalia is described as an outstanding student. She is the only girl out of four children. She lives with her siblings and mother. Her mother has a medical condition and is unable to work. There is very little Mahalia's mother can do to support her family. Mahalia is unable to get the basic school needs and transport to attend school. Sponsorship has enabled her to remain in school in order to pursue her ambition of becoming an accountant.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Rosylin lives with three brothers and a sister. Her hobbies are dancing, singing and reading. When she completes school, Rosylin wants to be a teacher because she thinks teachers are very important to society. Rosylin's family is very poor. She wants to do very well at school so that she can help her family do better financially. Sponsorship has enabled Rosylin to procure all the basic school fees and this has helped her focus on her studies. Her teacher notes that Rosylin showed a remarkable improvement since she received sponsorship.

South Africa

Lebohang believes that "we all deserve a chance to be someone in life to change and to add value to our communities and to our nation." She lives with her mother and father. Her father works at a clothing factory as a driver. Lebohang is keen to complete school and become a psychologist. She enjoys studying physical science, life science and mathematics. She took a leadership class in her church where she learnt and realised that she was created to lead and to bring change in her community. Lebohang believes that education will empower her to follow her vision to lead.

Tanzania

Happy comes from a family of six children, but only two out of six children were able to attend school. Happy is from the Masai community where they expect girls to marry as soon as they reach puberty. Many women among the Masai are against marrying off their daughters and Happy's mother is one of them. She wants her daughter to get secondary and university education. Happy's father does not want to see his daughter. She is treated as an outcast. Happy is keen to complete school. She enjoys chemistry, biology and physics. Her ambition is to become a doctor. She would like to help her family and community because they need basic health care which is often unavailable in the village. Happy also wants to help educate girls in her community.

Nigeria

Shalom lives with her parents. She was promoted to senior secondary but she did not resume classes because of her parents' financial difficulties. Her father was a shop keeper and her mother teaches at nursery and primary school. Both parents have been responsible for Shalom's education until August 2011 when floods struck Ibadan in Oyo State. Their shop and house were affected by the flood. Since then, Shalom's parents found it difficult to rebuild their businesses and support their family. Shalom is the last child in the family and her parents told the school that she would not continue with her education because of the flood disaster and no other source of income. Fortunately with sponsorship Shalom has continued her secondary schooling and hopes to study law.

Uganda

Rachel is the second born in a family of four children. Her father died in 2005. She lives with her mother, who contributes to the school fees together with some other well-wishers. Rachel started secondary school as a boarder, but due to lack of funds she decided to become a day student. She walked a long distance every morning and evening, to and from school. Sometime she arrived home late especially during the rainy season. The walk to and from school is not safe and is always tiring. Fortunately with sponsorship from the Education Fund, Rachel is back in boarding school and is able to study at school and has all her basic school needs. Rachel's ambition is to become a public administrator.

Zambia

Mbile lives with father and two siblings. Her mother died from cancer in 2008 and since then life has been tough for the family. Mbile's father lost his job and was later involved in an accident, and is now unable to work. In order to pay Mbile's school fees and her boarding in school, her sister sacrificed her college fees and at times, the family also went hungry. Despite these challenges, Mbile performed very well in her junior secondary examinations and is now doing very well in senior secondary school. She is in the sciences class and hopes to work in the medical field.

Zimbabwe

Chiedza comes from a family of six. She is a very hard working student who is very ambitious and of a great personality. She always does her best in everything she does. Chiedza enjoys playing volleyball, chess and takes part in public debate. She wants to be an environmental scientist because she believes the environment is important to all of us. With CCLEF financial assistance, Chiedza will complete secondary school and be able to help people who desperately need assistance in her community.