When a Scholarship Changes Everything
Ever since she was a little girl, Zione Njovu from Chigonthi village, Traditional Authority Chitukula in Lilongwe district, had always dreamed of becoming a nurse.
Each time she visited the government-run M’bang’ombe Health Centre in Lilongwe rural, she looked at nurses with admiration and envisioned herself donning the white uniform and wearing a stethoscope around her neck.
“To me, they were angels in human form and all I wanted was to be like them – to treat and ease pain,” she says.
Zione’s journey towards that goal took a big step in 2020 when she was selected to Likuni Girls Secondary School in Lilongwe.
Unfortunately, it was at the same time she realized that to become a nurse, one does not only need good brains but also financial resources.
Zione’s parents were subsistence farmers who grew crops primarily for family consumption, leaving little for sale. They could not afford fees let alone groceries to keep their daughter in school to become the nurse she wanted to be.
“As a girl I needed many things, but I was not asking for too much. As long as I had my tuition fees paid, the rest was secondary,” she says.
Zione’s parents paid fees for the first term and struggled to pay for the second term. It was clear to Zione that her parents would not be able to pay for the third term.
Her situation was made known to the school head who could not sit and watch such a brilliant girl withdraw on financial grounds. She referred her case to FAWEMA and recommended her for support.
To Zione’s relief, FAWEMA considered her for scholarship with support from the Malawi Washington Foundation – a non-profit organization that supports education, especially for girls, at all levels from primary to tertiary.
To her further relief, the scholarship did not end at secondary school. It continued even as she joined Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Lilongwe to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and Midwifery.
Zione’s hard work in class and passion for a nursing career was rewarded this year on 1st May when she graduated with credit.
“My gratitude to FAWEMA and the Malawi Washington Foundation goes beyond words. They paid for all my school fees in secondary school and upkeep in college. You cannot ask for more,” says the 24-year-old who is now ready to join the nursing profession and make a difference!
