This week, Quincy Namonje, one of Our Moon’s scholars, talks about growing up and her current university preparations. Quincy is the eldest child of three, raised by a single mother, and comes from a financially compromised family. Despite these financial setbacks, Quincy hopes one day to study at university and improve the economy of her home country.
’Growing up in a poor family posed a lot of challenges in my life but has taught me reckonable lessons. There were times when my family and I went to bed on empty stomachs because we had no money. Mostly we survived on one meal a day. I remember almost losing my life because we were so hungry. My family and I didn’t any to eat for well over 24 hours, so we were very hungry. At about mid-morning, a local man brought some fresh cassava from the farm for us – he was unaware that we hadn’t eaten anything. . The cassava was very bitter and so he left us instructions that they could only be eaten after soaking them in water for a week. But because we were so hungry, we ignored the instructions. After eating the bitter cassava, someone gave us some rice and some sugar for our tea. Minutes after eating that, we all developed severe stomach pains. In hospital, drips were immediately inserted and after some time I started foaming at the mouth. Fortunately, we all recovered. Most of our challenges as a family were due to lack of money
I have always attended government schools, financed by well-wishers and distant relatives. In eleventh grade, two NGOs, Afya m’zuri in partnership with the Copperbelt Health Education Project, funded me and through them, I heard about Our Moon
There is no guarantee that I will be offered a full scholarship to study at university. With Our Moon’s help, however, I hope to be one of the students who have been accepted. While I am studying with Our Moon, I also hope to acquire as many leadership and employability skills as I can
I am currently undecided on the subject I will major in. But I have some options including economics, mathematics or any science. If I study in the US, I am able to make my decision after the end of my first year. My first choice currently is economics.My preparations for university mainly revolve around studies. I have understood that I will only be accepted if I get good grades. I have also been doing lots of voluntary work and continued doing my best as a leader here at Hillcrest so that I learn to somehow understand a variety of characters
I passionately want to contribute to the Zambian economy. I believe Zambia is in the state that it is in because these both the finance and health sectors have not been treated with respect. If Zambians can be told plainly that their contribution in many affairs matters, then we would be telling a different story now
For those who might be coming from poor families like me, know that money is not the requirement for success but a result of hard work. Work hard and be confident as lack of confidence is what will bring you down. Stay focused and know that when determination is available, opportunities will come your way.’