A Life Transformed – Ezekiel is a star!

With Spring graduations taking place across the world, it is a good time to reflect on the recent graduation of Ezekiel Manyakenda, one of our sponsored students from Tanzania. Last October he graduated with a BA degree in English from the University of Dodoma, Tanzania.  We are very proud of him.

Ezekiel has always excelled at his studies. He grew up in a small holding farmer family in Nyamirembe, a village in Chato district, Geita region in North-western Tanzania, on the shores of Lake Victoria. However, following the death of his father when he was 16, Ezekiel’s future became uncertain. His mother struggled to manage their one-acre land alone and did not have enough money to pay school fees and other expenses to keep Ezekiel and his three siblings in school. As a subsistence farmer, she needed to grow excess produce to sell at the market to afford items like school uniforms and school shoes for her children.

Working alone without her husband who had far more experience of navigating farming challenges such as seasonal bad weather, and animals and insects that cause crops to fail, the land did not yield enough, and the family soon fell into financial difficulty.

The family came to the attention of ACT. We helped Ezekiel to continue with his education by providing all of his school needs.  In addition, the family was registered for the Community Health Insurance fund (CHF). This provides cover against illness and any member of the family can receive medical consultation and hospital prescriptions without charge.

Also, as part of our widows’ sustainable income generation project which aims to secure the livelihood of a widow’s family, ACT provided his mother with a choice of a goat or pig to breed. She chose the former.  She also received training in animal husbandry and an enclosed shed was built to secure the goat at night from wild animals and theft. The goat has given birth several times and the family have a small flock, some of which have been sold for cash.  The goats also provide milk which they sell, but some is used to make goat cheese which they also sell.

ACT support brought stability to the family. This enabled Ezekiel to concentrate on his studies and he thrived at school. He passed the National Secondary School Leaving exams with very good grades which gained him a place to study English at the University of Dodoma in 2018. This was a major achievement considering the struggles he experienced during a crucial point in his education. Three years later in 2021, he wrote to share the good news of his graduation.

Ezekiel was 16 and in secondary school in 2015 when his father died.

“I’m now a certified linguist and want to thank ACT for being with me from the beginning to this moment.  I wish to specialise in public relations with the aim to tackle social problems in our communities to enable people have a better life.”

– Ezekiel Manyakenda

Ezekiel has joined the nearly 200 disadvantaged but hard-working young people who have benefitted from ACT support and seized the opportunity to access higher education to study for a university degree, diploma or certificate of vocational education and training.

In recognition of our success in transforming the educational opportunities of vulnerable young people, we recently received a grant of £5000 from the Souter Charitable Trust, to enable a further 8 children to continue their studies at university. The trust was set up by Sir Brian and Lady Elizabeth Souter and assists charities such as ACT that are engaged in the relief of human suffering in the UK and overseas. We are truly grateful for their support.

ACT is for the people otherwise forgotten

There are many more disadvantaged fatherless children and orphans in Africa like Ezekiel who need your help. With £15 a month you can sponsor a child and help them to reach their potential in life and make their lifelong dreams come true. Your support really can be life changing. Please click here to sponsor a child or make a donation.