She is ten years old, lives in Malawi, and has learned to read and write with a plan in mind: to become a journalist. She has been able to read many books with help from Save The Children, which has raised awareness in the African community on the importance of reading.
Fatsileni is a 10-year-old girl with her mind set on a dream. Fatsileni would like to become a journalist one day. It is all that she has ever wanted to be since she learnt how to read and write.
When she is not playing netball, cleaning dishes or helping her family sell fried fish at the market, Fatsileni can be found reading a book or teaching her friends how to read and write. At times, she thinks back to her life before Save the Children programs arrived at her school. She was not as happy as she is now. It reminds her to be thankful.
She takes every opportunity to do it
“Before Save the Children came around, there was hardly anything to read,” she said. Today, Fatsileni cannot picture a world that does not involve reading. She takes every opportunity to do it. She spends a lot of time at a Save the Children program called Buddy System, which is where friends help each other how to become better at reading and writing. In Malawi, a big challenge in primary schools is that a lot of children do not know how to read and write. Save the Children helps teachers and community leaders by training them on different, fun, innovative ways of teaching children in schools and also in camps. Because of this, a lot more children are now learning how to read and write.
She will continue learning
In the coming year, Fatsileni plans to do better in school. Her grades dropped from last year and she is not happy about that. She knows that her journey in reaching her goal starts with her performance in school. Fatsileni has her eyes on the prize. She wants to be a journalist and she will continue learning because she knows that’s what it will take to get there.
