Katherine Mwale, a mother of nine, shares her family’s educational journey:
“I am Katherine Mwale. I have nine children, among my children one is an Impact student and another one is an Impact teacher.”
Initially, Katherine was indifferent towards her children’s education:
“Before Impact Network was established, I had no interest in educating my children but my husband did.”
The local community school faced challenges:
“The community recommended a male teacher and we agreed that will be taking portions of our crops to pay the teacher. This worked well the first 2 years, but afterwards the children would come home and tell us the teacher was not there. At times the teacher would travel without letting anyone know.”
A turning point occurred when a non-profit organization intervened:
“Years later a non-profit organization came to our community to educate us on the importance of education and invited children to come back to the school, free of charge. My daughter, who now works for Impact Network, was among the children who were sponsored.”
Observing her daughter’s transformation, Katherine recognized the value of education:
“Now that my daughter is a teacher, I have seen the importance of education. Our lives have changed. The way my girl does things, the way she understands things, the way she explains things to me, the way she encourages her younger sibling to go to school amazes me.”
She also notes the enthusiasm of her youngest child:
“When he is home from school, all he talks about is learning on tablets. He tells me what he learns from them and doesn’t want to miss school.”
Katherine concludes by highlighting the broader community impact:
“It is not just me and my kids that are benefiting but the community as a whole.”
Name has been changed to protect the parent’s identity.