Sponsorship Success Stories

Steve was suprised to see me, a young boy with such passion and determination in his eyes come to him and say all that, I thought he saw nothing but a little boy, but to my suprise, he saw the passion and determination which I had, that's when he and Carol got interested and told me that they would sponsor me if I make it to grade 8 of which I did, and they looked for a sponsor for me and her name was Crystal and she sponsored me throughout untill my grade 12. 

After I cleared my grade 12, my dreams and goals were to be in Health bacause I had and still have a zeal to nurse sick people and heal them with the best nursing care, so I wanted to either be a Nurse or a Doctor. Carol and Steve were impressed with my performance and for that, they told me to look for any school and once I was accepted, they would continue to sponsor me. I then applied at Mwami School of Nursing and Midwifery with zero hopes of getting accepted because of the competition and competency in their works. Luckily I was selected and it was a great deal for me because of the wonderful reputation that it has in terms of producing the best Nurses. Suprisingly, Crystal Coleman again committed herself to support me throughout my program together with Steve and Carol.

After being enrolled at Mwami in 2021, I was excited and when we started going in the Hospital wards, I really enjoyed Paedriatic Ward because the amazing smile a child gave was going directly to my heart and the joy I had after a sick child gets his health back because of my tireless nursing care was something special for me. But again, I can't lie to say I had a smooth life as we know how life is, I also had many ups and downs but Carol Van Bruggen, Steve Kuhn, Laura Van Bruggen, Debby Lott, Joel Ayres, Kristin Kuhn-Ringie, Lesley Kuhn Nixon, my family and friends were always there for me and they brought nothing but the best in me and for that I would like to say so much.

Today marks exactly 3 years of my program as a Registered Nurse and I gladly can say that am done with my 3 year program. When I look back, I smile because I never gave up and I also smile because of the wonderful family and friends that I have in Zambia and in the U.S.A. I really appreciate it.

However, I will never allow my dreams to die here, I want to pursue my dreams and goals more and more (And I don't worry about missing the fun because Steve taught me the perfect time to enjoy life, it's a secret but I'll share anyway, so he told me to enjoy the journey and not the destination and that is really working out for me). So for that, I want to apply for Doctrate or to further my studies in Nursing. I'll see which one will work out but I have trust and hope that everything will work out to be perfect (Positivity is always needed, even if things don't go as planned, never lose hope)

All in all, my journey has been amazing and wonderful, I can't wait to see what next life has in stock for me.

By Ackson Zulu 

SAMSON'S DREAM comes true!

We met Samson when he was 13 years old in a remote rural village close to South Luangwa National Park where he lives with his parents who are subsistence farmers. 

Our generous Africa Hope Fund donors supported Samson so he could attend secondary school, grades 7 through 12, at a cost unattainable to most children in his village.

Sponsors through Africa Hope Fund gave him his first digital camera! 

With this camera Samson learned to take videos and taught himself film editing. He is fascinated with wildlife photography and videography and was able to accompany a BBC crew filming a wildlife documentary in Zambia.

Samson's aspiration is to become a wildlife film producer to expose the world to the wonders of his country and African conservation issues. 

Through SAE school in Capetown, South Africa Samson received a certificate that would allow him to obtain employment in the film industry with the aim of becoming specialized in wildlife film production. He has now worked with BBC and National Geographic. Samson has won an award for a video he produced. It is an incredible film called Reformed about a poacher who was the bane of local conservation teams until he decided to reform completely and become a wildlife police officer.  The film was extraordinary and richly deserved its nomination for the Global Voices category of the Jackson Wild Media awards. We are all very proud of Samson.

Your contribution could go to helping make other young people’s long held dream of a career in the wildlife or other careers become a reality. Let us know of your interest.