Engineering Change: Precious’s Path to Clean Water and Leadership

By Annabel Mumba
Annabel Mumba is AYC’s Donor Relations Coordinator in Zambia. She is a Scholarship Fund recipient, high school graduate and current college student, and also one of our Success Stories.

Co-written by Pamela O’Brien, African Education Program’s Development Director, who is mentoring Annabel as she pursues a journalism degree.

Precious, a high school graduate and College Scholarship Fund recipient at Amos Youth Centre, is now in her final year of college as a water engineering student at Zambia’s Natural Resources Development College.

Precious’s passion for water engineering is deeply personal: she grew up in a community that struggled with safe water access and would often wait in long queues at communal boreholes. She understands the importance of access to safe sources of water for drinking and hygiene and is planning to work in a water treatment plant after she graduates to ensure clean, safe water for her community and the entire country. The Amos Youth Centre is proud to have supported Precious throughout her educational journey.

Precious grew up in Kalundu View, a small community surrounded by hills in Kafue, Zambia as the second-born in a family of six. Her father was a bricklayer and her mother was a marketeer. When her father lost his job and had to move away from the family for work, Precious took on additional responsibilities at home by looking after her siblings.

As her responsibilities at home increased, she found herself in need of support, guidance, and a safe space to grow.

Precious Finds the Amos Youth Centre (AYC)

Precious was introduced to the Amos Youth Centre (AYC) through a friend in the 7th grade. She was immediately intrigued by the possibility of the organization helping with school fees, a significant burden her parents carried. In 2014, education was not free in Zambia and school fees for secondary school were mandatory.

Precious stands in front of AYC’s Urban Farming & Permaculture Learning Space — aka The Kia Garden.

Precious says that the lively, sometimes outdoor, classrooms at AYC’s Learning & Leadership Center made learning a joy. She found a space to be herself in the Creative Club where she engaged in music, art and design and writing poems. She also benefited from the Reproductive and Health Access Initiative (RHAI). The RHAI encourages conversations around menstrual and sexual health, topics often considered taboo in the community. Precious says the RHAI empowered her with knowledge and confidence to take control of her reproductive health.

Precious tutored her younger peers in the early days.

To qualify for college sponsorship (or secondary school scholarship when secondary school fees were still mandatory in Zambia), AYC students need to participate regularly in all the clubs and activities, attend classes, get good results on their tests and exams, and be a good student. Precious was able to meet all these requirements and earned her scholarship in the 10th grade. With her secondary school fees taken care of, she felt a profound sense of relief. Precious recalls, "I was very confident that I was going to not only complete secondary school but also get an opportunity to go to college." This newfound hope was not something she wanted to keep to herself. She immediately brought her younger siblings, Castone and Rose, to the Learning & Leadership Centre so that they too could benefit.

Today, her brother Castone serves as a Youth Ambassador for the AYC’s Urban Farming and Permaculture Learning Space - Kafue’s first educational urban farm also known as “The Kia Garden”. "Seeing him work there makes me happy and appreciate AYC," she says. At the garden, youth in Kafue learn how to use urban farming methods including sack gardening, keyhole gardening, and vertical gardening - all of which work well in small spaces such as backyards.

After graduating from high school, Precious completed AYC’s mandatory College Prep Program for college scholarship recipients by tutoring students in math and science at AYC. Precious credits AYC’s College Prep Program for equipping her with the skills to plan for her future. During this time she learned financial management skills, mental health strategies, and how to make friends as a self-described introvert. The most valuable lesson, she says, was building self-esteem. "The lessons on self-acceptance, setting boundaries, self-care, and positive self-talk still help me whenever I am facing any challenges whether I am having a breakdown or facing a life challenge," she shares.

Now as a college student, Precious is grateful that AYC’s College Scholarship Fund provides tuition, accommodation, and a stipend for groceries allowing students like her to focus on their studies without financial worry.

A Ripple Effect of Hope and Clean Water

Precious is already putting her skills as a water engineer to use at AYC where she is working to improve the irrigation system at the Urban Farming & Permaculture Learning Space. Her work here will help improve how the vegetables receive their water, increasing the overall health of the crops.

At the Amos Youth Centre, we believe in the power of community and the influence of positive youth role models. Precious’s journey stands as a powerful testament to the ripple effect of one person's success. When asked what advice she would give to a young student in a similar situation, she says, "If you have an opportunity to be sponsored, focus and achieve your goal."