Lillian Moono is a polite, soft-spoken young lady with an infectious charm about her who completed high school in 2020. Lillian is now 22 years old and a great contrast to the little girl she was when she started on the sponsorship program when she was only in the fourth grade. Lillian was recommended to be part of the sponsorship program after her mother, who was the family’s breadwinner, passed away and her father was unable to cater for her school fees. Currently, her father does part-time jobs here and there to try and make ends meet.
She attended grades 4 to 7 at Dambwa Primary School before moving on to Linda Secondary School for grades 8 to 12. Lillian shared that her favorite subject in school had been ChiTonga and that she had also quite enjoyed mathematics as well. It’s a good thing that she showed an interest in math as she aspires to pursue clinical medicine if offered tertiary sponsorship.
“I would love to study medicine because being part of the sponsorship program instilled in me a passion to help others and be a valuable member of society. I have a few dream schools in mind and given the opportunity, I would love to attend either Mulungushi University, Copperbelt University (CBU), or Levy Mwanawasa Medical University.”
Lillian is the second born and has an elder brother who lives in the Copperbelt and completed high school last year after experiencing some financial challenges. Her immediate younger sister lives in the village with relatives and her other younger sister is currently in the ninth grade at Dambwa Primary and Secondary School. Lastly, the youngest child (her brother) is in the seventh grade at the same school. “I’m very close with my siblings and I’m very proud of them. My sister wants to be a Doctor as well and my brother dreams of being a Pilot. I believe he’ll achieve his dream because he is very smart and so good at Math and English,” said Lillian fondly.
When she’s not at the office, helping out with various tasks, Lillian shared that she enjoys making doormats by hand. A skill that she learned from her mother before her passing. “I typically sell a doormat for about K50 and I use Facebook and WhatsApp to advertise them. Usually people will make an order then I make the mats for them. I would say I’ve made about K500 from selling doormats. This helps me take care of some of my personal expenses and help out around the house,” said Lillian. Aside from making doormats, Lillian enjoys reading books, non-fiction books to be specific.
When asked if she had any words to share for the girls still in school under the sponsorship program, Lillian had this to say. “Continue working hard in school, don’t engage in bad activities no matter the circumstances. I know you may feel like you need to enter dangerous relationships for various reasons but just keep on the right path.”