Sponsorship Helps Students Complete Nursing Degrees

This is the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and on April 7 World Health Day 2020 shone a light on the vital role nurses and midwives play in providing health care around the world. 

Many sponsored children dream of becoming nurses. Blessings and Frederick, sponsored children from Zambia, are studying to be nurses and look forward to helping the needy in their villages.

Blessings entered the Chalice program when he started attending the Charles Lwanga Nursery School in our Serenje site. At the age of 10, he decided that he would become a doctor when he grew up. His parents are subsistence farmers and could not afford the essentials for their family. Thanks to his sponsor, Blessings was provided with proper nutrition and money to pay his school fees. When Blessings graduated from grade 12, he took the exams and underwent the interview process for nursing school. In May 2020, he will finish his third year of training at the Chilonga School of Nursing and officially become a registered nurse. 

Zambia, like many countries, lacks sufficient medical supplies and medication for all patients. Blessings is disappointed with the Zambian medical system, saying that it lacks sufficient medical supplies and medication for all in-patients, but he will do his best to provide the best care to his community. While he is happy to be graduating as a nurse, Blessings still holds onto the dream of becoming a doctor. He thanks his sponsor for all of their support, which has continued into his post-secondary pursuits.

Frederick has been sponsored for 14 years. He grew up with frequent pain in his stomach, and at age 10 decided he was going to be a doctor like his uncle. His parents are subsistence farmers who couldn't afford to pay school fees, and they are so grateful for Frederick's sponsor who has helped them pay for his education and continued to help him when he graduated from grade 12 and entered the Chilonga School of Nursing, with a focus on psychiatric medicine and mental health. Frederick would like to see significant progress in Zambia in the areas of mental health treatment, awareness and an end to stigma. To his knowledge, there are fewer than seven psychiatric doctors serving the entire country.

One of the greatest impacts of Chalice sponsorship for Frederick was a relationship with God. When he was little, his family did not attend church often, but through the Servants of Mary Immaculate sisters who ran his Chalice site, he came to know God. "Now I know God is always there for me," he said.

Thank you to all the nurses and midwives working around the world and thank you to our sponsors who love and support the needy children and elders in our sites. May God bless you always.