Many caring hearts, a strong community network and the inspired generosity of one woman have all come together to provide for Tracy Khakhali the chance for further education.
At twenty years of age, Tracy thought her dreams were over. An excellent student, she had been one of the first to have her high school education paid for by Village of Love, and she had a good chance of attaining a government scholarship to study accountancy. However, in her final year of High School, tragedy struck. Her mother became sick and died, leaving Tracy as head of a household of seven children, including three orphans.
Tracy now had to run her mother’s small business to keep the family going. Neighbours, Village of Love friends and volunteers came around the family as best they could, but with the pressures of grief and supporting her family, when it came to exam time, Tracy was not able to reach her usual A’s and B+’s. The door to further education for Tracy appeared to be permanently shut.
What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. A Village of Love beneficiary was attending therapy sessions run by Catholic nuns. The nuns had been approached by an Italian woman wanting to sponsor a vulnerable girl who attained a C+ and above.
The nuns offered this opportunity to the women in the therapy group. Did anyone know someone who fit this category? No one could identify such a person, apart from the Village of Love beneficiary! After this everything fell into place for Tracy. The invitation came for an interview. She passed with flying colours, and is now enrolled in a four year course in Maths and Computer Science at Tangaza College.
“The girl is thrilled,” writes Andrew Obara, Project Administrator for the Village of Love, “and so are we. We are so grateful to our Village of Love beneficiary for putting forward Tracy’s name!”
It truly takes a village….