Tag Archives: Zambia

Letters of Thanks

Patricia Shafer, February 5, 2016

Piet age 13_ZambiaIt’s always heartwarming to open letters from a young man or woman expressing gratitude. We just received a Thank You from Piet Ng’andu in Zambia and Monykong Mijak Dau in South Sudan.

Piet, in his second year at Zambia’s Copperbelt University, wishes everyone a successful 2016. He received his first annual scholarship from a donor connected with Mothering Across Continents at age 13. His update includes: “I love all my courses. Calculus has been interesting as it has a lot of applications in engineering . . . I have enjoyed principles of Statics and Dynamics, as well as Surveying and Engineering Ngor in South SudanDesign. I thank you for your support without which I would not have managed to achieve what I have so far. Faithfully, Piet.“

Monykong – a nephew of our Raising South Sudan project catalyst and former Lost Boy of Sudan Ngor Kur Mayol – finished high school, Nov. 14, 2015, at a boarding school in Uganda. Over the years, he received scholarship support from his uncle Ngor and a friend, supplemented by a foundation in Salisbury, NC, and several Mothering Across Continents catalysts and supporters. In his letter, he writes of God bringing sponsors into Monykong Dau 2016his life and feeling loved. Reflecting, Monykong writes: “Here in Africa . . . I have discovered the significant role education plays in building character, unearthing and developing human potential, for the collective benefit of both a particular nation and the world at large.”

The thanks from Monykong and Piet remind us, in turn, to appreciate everyone who invests in another person’s development – especially a child’s. Education opens eyes and reveals a world otherwise unknown.

Piet from Zambia…From Doctor to Engineer

Piety Ngandu is a scholarship student, supported by a donor for the past 7 years with 5 to go. He is from a rural family of 13 children in Zambia who’s now on a path to becoming an engineer. Here’s a recent letter from him.

“Hi, how are you? Last October, I was admitted at the University of Zambia. It was a step to become a doctor. But I began to love all the sciences and even more – Physics. Every experiment was connected with everything in the universe and just seemed to be real.

As I was developing an interest in Physics at University of Zambia, I decided to become an engineer and later a Rocket Scientist. Copperbelt Province has an industrial nature, so I’ve transferred to Copperbelt University. Also, the government of Zambia is now offering me a 100% free tuition at the institution. I saw this as a relief to my donor sponsors as they would not have to worry about my tuition fees. But for boarding and study materials for Year 2, 3, 4 and 5, it will be a challenge for me for which I will still need help from my sponsors. This was also a very good opportunity not to waste because I could get accommodations at the university, making it easier to study more. And it is cheaper to be living at school than in a boarding house.

I am now doing six courses. These are Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Pure Mathematics, Computer Science and Communication Skills. These Communication Skills are new to me, but I have started to enjoy it because it teaches me how to interact with different types of people. Computer Science is also interesting because everything now involves computers. For the Sciences, I expect no problems in these courses. I am happy to inform you that so far everything is going well, and I am doing fine.  I will be a civil engineer by 2019.

I am wishing you all the best, and I thank you for the assistance you are giving me.”

Photo Piety NganduPiet age 13. Current age: 20