Resilience, Regina & Robert
Regina was born in a village in Zambia. She only completed grade 9 so her level of education did not produce steady work but after a move to Livingston and the help of her elder sister, she managed to start a small business selling small packets of sugar, bar soap and rice.
After 15 years of an abusive marriage, Regina, divorced her husband and decided to raise her children as a single mother. He was an alcoholic and his abuse escalated from verbal to physical and the children were no longer safe. She left to protect her family. Since that day in 2018, they have not heard from the father. Despite having a small business selling basic necessities, she managed to provide for her four children.
Regina is heavily invested in her children’s education because she believes this is the only way out of their circumstance. In Zambia, the challenges lie against a background of extreme poverty and struggle to even provide one or two meals a day and since COVID-19 basically shut down the entire (tourist town of) Livingstone for so long, the battle is much more difficult. Because products are less expensive across borders (Botswana, Namibia, even Zimbabwe), Regina purchased the items across the borders to sell in Livingston but when the borders closed, she lost it all. Now she plaits hair in her home to put food on the table.
One of her children, Robert, is a former student sponsored by Wings of Hope, an organization TAP Partner Debi Elliott co-founded. Wings of Hope strives to raise funds to keep those super high performing kids in secondary school all the way through grade 12 and occasionally into tertiary education. Robert excelled in his grade 12 examination in 2021. He now has been admitted to the University of Zambia to pursue a degree in Educational Psychology. The Wings of Hope sponsorship proved to be a blessing for Robert, offering a lifeline to Robert's academic aspirations when limited financial resources threatened to halt his education.
Regina is very grateful for the financial and overall support Wings of Hope is rendering to her oldest son Robert who is 18 years old. She believes that hopes and dreams can be made possible even in the worst circumstances. She is convinced that her children are capable of achieving any possibilities. Even with lacking a father figure in the house, Regina has instilled great values in her children which can easily be recognized by their humility, respect and good behavior.
In her testimony, Robert's mother expressed profound gratitude, noting that the sponsorship from Wings of Hope rekindled hope for her son's future. She shared how, upon receiving news of Robert's university acceptance, she immediately called Wings of Hope to share the joy. Through this sponsorship, Robert not only completed grade 12 but also gained the opportunity for tertiary education. The impact of Wings of Hope on Robert's academic journey has left her profoundly grateful for the positive change it brought to her son's life.