By Robbie Hemstreet, Mar 2018
Thombosi joined the The Unforgotten early in the program’s history. In March 2011, a child profile of Thombosi captured some facts about her impoverished upbringing.
By age 8 she had already lost her father. Her mother sold secondhand shoes, while Thombosi collected recyclables at the city dump for re-sale. She could earn nearly 30¢ a day, if she was able to collect enough empty ice-cream cups. The work was illegal and dangerous.
Due to a lack of family income, Thombosi did not attend school. Neither did six of her seven siblings. Thambosi and her siblings would supplement their one communal meal a day with pickings from the dump site. At night they shared a plastic shelter near the dump.
After enrolling in The Unforgotten education program, Thambosi thrived in school. She was recognized by her teacher as a hard worker, and she scored “excellent” in her 2nd grade exams for Math, Science, and Computer studies.
Seven years later, Thambosi continues to persevere. She passed the mandatory entrance exam for the 8th grade and will continue her studies at Chanzanga basic school thanks to The Unforgotten continuing to pay her school fees.
Unfortunately, this success story is not universally shared. Two of Thambosi’s brothers were also admitted into The Unforgotten program, but they struggled to stay in school. Alex started to go back to the dump to find more food and make money. The family sent her youngest brother, Nicholas, from Lusaka to the family’s village to protect him from the hazardous city life.
The Unforgotten is immensely proud of Thambosi’s hard work. We will continue to support her with tutoring and mentorship as well as financial resources as she advances to junior high school and beyond!