Read about Mohamed and his steady steps towards leading an independent, fulfilled life.

 

Mohamed Reaches for His Independent Life

 

Mohamed* arrived at SOS Children's Village Lilongwe back in 1987, along with his younger brother, Ali.

 

The fact that the two siblings were at the village was due to the persistence of their elder brother, Ibrahim, who had petitioned both the village directly, but, more importantly, the local Social Welfare Office until a place was found for the two young children.

 

The two youngsters moved into house 'chisomo' which means 'peace' in chiChewa, the language spoken around Lilongwe. Elesi Mbewe, SOS mother for the house welcomed the two little boys warmly and they soon became part of the SOS family.

 

Mohamed always did very well at school. His SOS mother always characterised him as a quiet, studious child, slim and tall and never seeking attention.

 

Quietly, Mohamed got on with his studies and passed all of the tests and examinations set at both his primary and secondary schools.

 

As Mohamed did so well in his final exams, he was considered for entry into the SOS International College in Ghana.

 

With much excitement and fanfare, Mohamed left to study for his international baccalaureate.

 

Sadly, while he was away at college, Elesi Mbewe passed away and Lucy Mtambilika took over as SOS mother. She maintained contact with Mohamed and was careful to always let him know how young Ali was doing.

 

On his return to Malawi, having successfully passed his baccalaureate, Mohamed was accepted in a voluntary capacity to work for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees), where he not only enjoyed himself, but became a well respected member of the team.

 

A few weeks ago, Mohamed started out on yet another step towards an independent, fulfilled life. For two years, he will be in Bremen, Germany, where he has gained a scholarship to study Electrical Engineering at university there.

 

His quiet and unassuming nature probably finds it difficult to understand the accolade which one co-worker verbalised during his 'send off' party: "we all wish Mohamed the best. We tell you how proud we are of you and we hope that you don't change, but stay the quiet, confident 'brisk' that you are."

 

In his normal, understated way, Mohamed promised to return to Malawi after his studies, where he will be able to give back to the community. Of course, he also wants to make sure that his young brother, Ali, works as hard as possible to ensure that he too has the opportunity to make a good life for himself and to keep an eye on Lucy Mtambilika, who he now calls, simply, "Mum".

 

 

*For privacy reasons, we have changed the names of the boys.