Personal profile

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Background I was born in 1983 in Zambia monze district. I started my primary education at mwaala primary school in 1990. In 1994 April my father passed away. This forced my mother to transfer me from mwaala primary school to Pemba basic school, where she shifted to after the death of my father. But unfortunately in June 1994 she also passed away. In 1997 I wrote my grade seven examinations and I qualified to go to junior secondary level at the same school. After studying junior secondary school course for 2 years, in 1999 I wrote my grade 9 examinations amidst problems but I still qualified to go to senior secondary (grade 10).In 2000 I was posted to Jembo High school but due to financial problems I did not manage. Later alone in 2000 April I joined APU, for a General certificate of education equivalent to a school certificate because it was cheaper than enrolling as a full time pupil. This time around I was already a charcoal burner in order to raise tuition fees which were K60, 000 per term. In 2002 I wrote my high school final examinations and I passed with good grades in spite of not attending lessons for the whole term because I was unable to pay the tuition fees. This happened because at that time the forestry department had burned charcoal trading unless if you had a license. In 2003 I started some voluntary work as untrained teacher at James hope orphanage school which was closed due to maladministration by the proprietor. In 2004 January -2006 December I was at Evelyn Hone College studying Library and information science while doing some peace works to raise money and some little help from my aunt. In 2009 I was given a job by the government as a library assistant. The position I still hold up to now. FAMILY My family is an extended family, on my biological siblings, from my mother we are 4 and from my father we are 6. I’m married with a 1 year old child, I, have three dependants.

LIFE EXPERIENCE

My life experience is what I would describe as the hard way the only way. After the death of my parents in 1994, I come to learn that life is not an easy journey. When I qualified to go to junior secondary school problems started. This was the time of huger due to draughts in southern province of Zambia. I tried to ask for help from relatives to no avail, people were busy with ways of how to find food. This forced me and my brother to start burning charcoal to raise tuition fees. Luck enough there was a stable market in mazabuka for charcoal. Sometimes I would miss classes for three or two weeks in order to balance up between school and my business. I remember one woman in mazabuka whose bag of charcoal I was carrying telling me off for selling charcoal instead of being at school. I jus dropped my tears but I never told her the reasons. In my heart I was saying “if my parents were there I would not be suffering like this spending nights in the cold at the market at my age”. Also going back to school, we used to cover 5 kilometers going to school every day. Sometimes on my empty stomach, no food. In Grade 12 at senior secondary school in term three (3) I never attended lessons due to financial problems I was chased from class, I just went to pay for examination fees. I wrote my examinations and I passed with good grades. The hard way the only way was for me to be a charcoal burner and a pupil at the same time. I also come to learn that if you are focused and determined you will always get what you want. There is a lot to tell but I can’t say everything here.

WHY I HAVE DECIDED TO STUDY LIBRARY AND INFORMATIONSTUDIES.

I have decided to study this course because I have an appealing passion for information management. I have realized that if I get a degree in Library and information studies I can greatly contribute to national development through timely and effective information management. There is no society that can develop without a reliable information base for decision making. This point to the need to have highly qualified information specialists who can influence decision making. I also want to use my qualification to fight high illiteracy levels in the country, which if not quickly addressed would be unmanageable in future. By doing this I can greatly contribute to national development. WHY I SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR A SCHOLARSHIP

I believe I should be favorably considered for this scholarship, because I’m unable to advance in education in order for me to greatly contribute to national development .The government at the moment have stopped sponsoring it’s employees for further studies due to financial problems, if opportunities arise there is again nepotism and corruption .It becomes difficulty for junior officers accessing these opportunities. The salaries we get from the government are meager I can’t manage to pay the thousands of dollars that are required and looking at the inflation rate in the country making cost of living expensive. If I decide to go to school it means I will have to stop providing for my family. I will use this opportunity to help others in future to fish them out of poverty. A Diploma does not count this time around for someone to be counted one must have a Degree. I can speak, and write about the things that I think if fully exploited would bring development but if my education background remains the way it is now, I will die with my ideals and no one would listen to me. I can not be given a decision making position.