Contributing to a boy’s success
“My name is Sandikonda Chuma,” he says as he introduces himself. “I am 16 years old. I am an orphan and a person with a disability. I lost my left arm to a crocodile attack.”
Sandikonda lives with his grandmother, who is too old to work and take care of the needs of her family.
When Cyclone Idai swept across southern Africa in March 2019, damaging houses and destroying crops, their situation got worse. They lost their food supply and many of their belongings, including Sandikonda’s school supplies.
Islamic Relief, member of the Humanitarian Coalition, responded to the needs in Sandikonda’s community by providing cash grants to meet basic food needs, hygiene supplies, and educational material.
“Due to the challenges I was facing, I told my head teacher to allow me to discontinue school because my dreams were slowly being shattered,” says Sandikonda. “But after the assistance from Islamic Relief and Humanitarian Coalition, I reversed my decision and now I enjoy coming to school.”
“Honestly, the materials have helped me a lot in my performance at school. I now want to work hard in school to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher. That way, when I get educated, my community will also benefit because I will be mentoring young people to work hard in school by being a role model.
“I know that I shall do well in life and I will look back and say Islamic Relief contributed to my success.”