Deborah was the dreamer in the family, her siblings constantly warned her off for having such big goals and aspirations by reminding her of their reality and how hard they scraped to make ends meet.
Living in a house that boasted of leaking roofs, no furniture, dilapidated walls, and having to share her personal space with seven other humans did not dissuade her from wanting more from life. Neither did having to wear hand-me-downs from her siblings to school and community events stop her from being optimistic about life.
Helping her mother run the roadside eatery that catered for their needs ever since dad lost his security job was one of the channels Deborah showed off her resilience. Being the last child and the only one available round the clock to assist mum, she had to maneuver school and still assist her mum when needed.
Deborah was a smart girl who was driven to have a better life than the one she had been born into that was the reason she made time to study despite the strain of work she underwent daily. Beyond her school books, she had read books the likes of Ben Carson’s gifted hands and these had lit the fire of hope in her heart. She believed with the right positioning, she could lift her family from poverty.
Despite the situation of things in her life, she managed to stay top of her class and this gave rise to her winning the school scholarship sponsored by the volunteer group that had taken an interest in their community and would from time to time send relief materials to help struggling families like hers. She greatly admired the work these volunteers did and how much of an impact it made on lives, she was motivated by such acts of service that she decided to be successful enough to cater to people who were in dreadful situations that restrained them from having a comfortable life.
She was determined to make it big, and as such, she was always searching for opportunities to better help her plight, she kept up with news of scholarship offers for top universities to study medicine and become a world-renowned scientist who would find the cure to diseases. She wanted to make tons of money so she could finance a
Support groups that would provide for children whose situations were similar to hers growing up.
She had significant help growing up, this made her long to reciprocate the gesture in the future and be able to contribute to society just as those volunteers had contributed to her life. She knew her dreams were valid for a sixteen-year-old who had been born into poverty but was scaling life through the help of good meaning citizens.
The work NGOs do go a long way in helping children have a better chance at life and gives hope to the less privileged.