A Bicycle of Hope to Jane’s journey of becoming a Nurse

Jane, a 16-year-old girl living in the rural Isoka district of Muchinga province, Zambia, had always dreamed of becoming a nurse and helping her community. But her dreams were often overshadowed by the harsh reality of her daily life. She lives in a community where access to secondary education is a distant promise, and the journey to school is a difficult one due to long distances.

Every morning, Jane would wake up around 5 am to start her walk to school. The sun hadn’t even begun to rise, but she knew that she had to start her long walk to school.

“I was always afraid to walk in the dark, but I had no option because my education depended on this,” said Jane. “I would walk from 5 am to 7 am to school.”

For security and safety, she would link up with her friends to continue the journey to school in a group.

“Some girls were abused as they walked alone, hence my parents advised that I must be always in a group with friends,” she narrated.

By the time Jane reached at school, she was exhausted, and class was already in session. This was the case for her every day.

“I was always late for class, and my friends would have covered half the first session. This made me lag behind in all subjects and affected by performance. I used to fail mostly,” said jane with a sad a face.

In class, fatigue from the long walk made it difficult for her to concentrate. She would doze off during class, missing important information. Her performance suffered, and she felt like she was falling behind.

“Everything was a challenge, after class my friends would remain in school to study but I couldn’t because I had to start my journey back home,” laments Jane.

After a full day of classes, she had to walk back home, another three to four hours on foot. By the time she reached her house, the sun had set, and the darkness dawned on her. As she spent much on the time walking to and from school, there was no time for homework or revision. Jane’s dreams of a becoming a nurse seemed to slip further away with each passing day.

World Vision Zambia in 2022 launched a Strong Girls Strong Zambia campaign, to help girls like Jane complete their education. The campaign aims to offer educational support 15,000 girls retrieved and at risk of child marriage by 2025.

To reduce the travel time to school, a Bicycle initiative was launched under the campaign aimed at supporting 2000 girls in rural Zambia. Jane was among the 20 girls that received their share of a bicycles in Isoka district.

“I am excited to receive this bicycle because it takes away all my challenges,” she says.

She was hopeful that she would now reach school in time for class and participate like everyone else.

“I will now attend class on time, and will have an opportunity to engage with teachers and even participate in the after class reading activities,” said Jane with a smile.

Jane’s story is one but many of the similar challenges facing girls in her community. Through the Strong Girls Strong Zambia initiative girls like Jane have a chance to get educated and realise their God given potential.