My life has been seasoned with fatal flaws, but I consider myself special
“I Am Special!”, says Chisomo Kamwendo. “My life has been seasoned with fatal flaws, but I consider myself special."
At the age of 12, all Chisomo could think of was becoming a doctor! To him, doctors were the ultimate goal in life, and so he set his mind to pursue medicine. With his dreams already set, all that Chisomo needed to do was excel in school. During his primary at Kang’oma, Chisomo was an outstanding student which was a great start to becoming a doctor. The only thing that stood in the way of him and his stethoscopes was the lack of financial support that would lead him to proceed to secondary level and the university. Chisomo’s primary was funded by School of Hope, but after completion, his only means of support was his grandmother who worked as a clinic assistant, who was then providing for their livelihood as well as school needs for him and his sibling. “Progressing with my education was not an option for me...we could hardly survive a week. Therefore, all hopes of pursuing my dreams came to a halt," explains Chisomo.With his hopes shattered, Chisomo resorted to helping his grandmother with chores at home, which is when he encountered Good Soil Partners.
“I will never forget the year 2013, when Good Soil Partners came to my home and told my grandmother that I had been chosen to be part of the Good Soil Partners Scholarship Program, meaning that they would fund my education up until university, as well as train me to be a leader!”
With Chisomo’s hope revived, he continued to dream on and pursue his passion. He graduated from his secondary school with 16 points at Kang’oma only to find out that he was not eligible to pursue medicine at university. This broke Chisomo’s heart, but in the course of time, he got selected into the University of Malawi Chancellor College where he pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree in Statistics.
Now in his third year, Chisomo says, “I plan to help my family and I know that working as a statistician will move me closer to providing my family, using the skill sets that I have developed with the leadership training I have received from Good Soil Partners. I believe my life has been a series of special events - from being a beneficiary of School of Hope, to being taken care of by my grandmother, to be a part of the Good Soil Partners Scholarship Program. I thank God that I have been able to live an exceptional life, and I know I have a lot to look forward to!"
*written by Theodora Kachingwe