What started as a dream to create a space for youth to have fun and learn important life skills during the school holiday has grown into the most anticipated week of the year for students at the Amos Youth Centre (AYC): the Annual Leadership and Life Skills Camp!

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. Precious 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.

It’s graduation day at Read for Rose, the Amos Youth Centre’s Special Education Program. Forty students ages 5-24 wait patiently as the six Read for Rose Special Education Program Teachers hand out certificates such as “best green thumb”, “most selfless and brave”, and, “youngest reader”. Every child is recognized for their unique skills and the improvements they’ve made in their education and learning over the last year.

The Amos Youth Centre (AYC) Rural Outreach Programme, established in 2010, provides the most marginalized girls and boys from the fishing village of Chanyanya with access to secondary education, nutrition, mental health counseling, career guidance, and health services through our Learning & Leadership Centre in Kafue, Zambia. Today, we share Emmanuel’s story.