You are part of a global "safety network"

I have had another day full of stories; stories of hope, despair, smiles, tears, courage and progress. But there's just one story I want to share because it so powerfully illustrates the waves of positive change that can result from giving the right support to the right person and helping them to put it into action.

While I was waiting in the Hodi office to visit another school, Kasamba pointed out a boy to me - one of the many people who trickle steadily into the Hodi office all day long desperate for help. "He's one of our supported boys," Kasamba said "Talk to him."

Ackim Mboyu was here to seek Hodi's support at teacher training college. His story was a tragic and familiar one; he had been orphaned at a young age and he and his brothers were left to fended for themselves. He had had to drop out of school for two years due to lack of funds and gave up all hope of his dream of becoming a teacher. Then Hodi and Cecily's Fund started supporting him - first through school and then as a peer health educator - and he has never looked back. He is immensely grateful for this support and invites blessings on those who have helped him.

I asked him if he could give me an example of peer health education having led to a change in the behaviour of a pupil. This is the story he told me:

"In one school where we ran sessions, there was a problem with drug abuse. So we explained to them the dangers of drug abuse and the link with HIV, that it could be transmitted through shared needles. After that session, one of the pupils came and confessed that he was using heroin. He was 17 years old. He didn't know that HIV could be spread through needles, and stopped using it straight away. My fellow peer educator and I researched the subject in CHEP's library. We counselled him confidentially - after every peer health education session, for about a month.


We also advised him to be tested for HIV. It was very difficult for him to go for testing, but after counselling he found the courage to go and be tested. The result was negative.

The last I heard that boy had passed his grade 9 exams and is now in grade 10. He counsells his friends who are using heroin, urges them to stop using and to be tested for HIV. He sees himself as a role model after what he has experienced."

I asked Ackim if he realised that he had probably saved that boy's life. He smiled modestly and thanked Cecily's Fund again for its support. And I suppose it is true that all of us involved in Cecily's Fund from our donors and supporters in the UK, USA, Switzerland and other parts of the world, our staff and trustees, our Zambian partners and those who benefit from our support are all part of the network that helped to save that boy's life, and possibly the lives of some of his friends.

I suppose you could call it a "safety network"... the challenge is going to be keeping that safety network strong and not letting too many bright and determined young people like Ackim fall through the gaps.