Keeping Girls in School: Musipi’s Story of Loss, Resilience and Hope

When the only thing standing in your way is an opportunity, everything can seem unachievable until that opportunity is given to you. For 14-year-old Musipi Mundia, that opportunity came through the Keep a Girl Child in School (KGS) programme. Musipi is a Grade 10 pupil at Mukamambo Girls’ Two Boarding Secondary School in Chongwe District, […]

When the only thing standing in your way is an opportunity, everything can seem unachievable until that opportunity is given to you.

For 14-year-old Musipi Mundia, that opportunity came through the Keep a Girl Child in School (KGS) programme.

Musipi is a Grade 10 pupil at Mukamambo Girls’ Two Boarding Secondary School in Chongwe District, Lusaka Province.

At her age, the first thing one notices about her is not the story she carries, but the determination with which she carries it.

Walking through the school grounds, with smiles passing between classmates, it is hard to imagine that not long ago her future felt uncertain. Her family often struggled to cover the costs associated with her education.

To many, she is just another pupil pursuing her education. But behind her smile is a story of loss, resilience, support and renewed hope.

Her journey through school has not always been easy. After losing her mother to an illness, her father was left to provide for their four children alone.

The responsibility of supporting the family placed increasing pressure on him, making it difficult to meet the various needs that came with keeping his children in school.

For Musipi, that could easily have affected her education.

However, becoming a beneficiary of the KGS programme brought a sense of relief at a time when her family was facing difficult circumstances.

“The responsibility of supporting the entire family fell on one parent, which made it increasingly difficult for my father,” she said.

While every family has its own story, the help provided through the programme eased some of the financial pressure, allowing her to remain focused on her education.

Additionally, the support meant that her family’s financial difficulties did not have to determine how far she could go with her education.

It gave her an opportunity to continue her studies at a time when circumstances at home could easily have made that journey more difficult.

The Keep a Girl Child in School programme is implemented by the Ministry of Education under the Government’s Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods Project, with support from the World Bank.

The initiative is aimed at helping vulnerable girls from extremely poor households access and complete their secondary education.

The programme provides support through bursaries, essential items and other measures intended to reduce the financial barriers that can prevent girls from remaining in school.

For families facing economic hardship, such assistance can mean the difference between struggling to meet school-related expenses and having some relief that allows a child to concentrate on learning.

Nevertheless, her story also raises a broader question: What happens to girls whose education is placed at risk because their families simply cannot afford to keep them in school?

Behind Musipi’s determination to stay in school is a family that continues to navigate the everyday challenges of making ends meet.

Meanwhile, her father, Mulope Mundia, says that for vulnerable households, the struggle goes beyond paying school fees. The cost of other basic needs also places pressure on families.

“The cost of learning materials, uniforms, transport and other necessities can place additional pressure on families already struggling to meet basic needs,” he said.

He added that this is where programmes such as KGS seek to intervene — not by changing the circumstances families have experienced, but by helping ensure those circumstances do not permanently determine a girl’s future.

Ultimately, at Mukamambo Girls’ Secondary School, Musipi is now able to look beyond the difficulties her family has faced and concentrate on what lies ahead.

Her experience is also a reminder that keeping a girl in school is about more than ensuring she remains inside a classroom. It is about protecting her opportunity to acquire an education, develop her abilities and eventually pursue the future she imagines for herself.

However, the road ahead may still have challenges. The loss of her mother remains part of her story, and her father continues to carry the responsibility of raising four children.

Nonetheless, the support she has received has given her one thing that financial hardship threatened to take away: the opportunity to keep moving forward.

Her story is therefore not only about what she has lost, but also about what she still hopes to gain.

In the classrooms of Mukamambo Girls’ Secondary School, she is not defined by the circumstances that brought her here. She is a pupil with a future still being written one lesson, one school day and one dream at a time.

And as she continues her education, her story reflects a wider hope for girls facing similar challenges: that financial hardship should not determine how far a child can go. Through bursary support, essential items and systems designed to keep girls in school, the initiative is helping to turn that hope into opportunity.