Brians's Story
In the first story of WISE’s scholarship students, Nasilele was featured, having graduated at the top of the Kaoma Secondary School’s class of 2015, ranking 1st out of a class of 693 students. Next we introduce Kaoma Secondary School’s salutatorian – the second ranked student, Brian – also a WISE scholarship student.
Brian was born and raised in the Copper Belt Province. However, his mother passed away from cancer in 2006, and his father passed away a year later. Thus, Brian was left to fend for himself educationally.
Brian took the national 7th grade examinations, passing first in his class. However, since free education ends in Zambia in the 7th grade, he had to find a way to pay for his own tuition for subsequent grades. He attended school in Lusaka (Zambia’s capitol) for the 8th and 9th grades, finding creative ways to pay for his tuition, such as going out into the countryside, buying bananas, and reselling them in the city for a profit.
High school tuition posed an even greater challenge to Brian. He returned to his grandparents’ village, where he engaged in such jobs as gardening and selling charcoal in an effort to save money. The High School principal discovered that Brian was making charcoal on weekends, struggling to earn enough for school, food and other necessities. Knowing that this young man was brilliant and determined but becoming discouraged, thinking he would never be able to complete school, the principal informed WISE of Brian’s predicament.
That is how Brian learned of the WISE scholarships. He applied for and received a WISE scholarship for grades 10 through 12. Obviously, he made the most of the scholarship, graduating second in the class, only one point behind Nasilele.
Brian plans on attending the University of Zambia, seeking a degree in engineering. He currently works at the Koama WISE Trust while awaiting admission to UNZA. WISE graduated six seniors this past December. All six (including Nasilele and Brian) graduated with distinction.
#Education #Success #Scholarships #Stories
