It All Started with a Teenage Student's Need for Tuition
It all began one summer afternoon as I returned from a hospital visit to the parish I resided while on holiday in Nigeria in 2015. “Good day Father (mokom ooo fada),” a lady greeted as I alighted from the car. I noticed tears briskly flowing down her cheeks and swiftly she added, “Fada mbok nwam mien (please Father help me), my son is deeply troubled and emotionally worn out.” Upon inquiry, I gathered from this single mother that she has asked him to give up on his intended pursuit of a college education despite his brilliant scores in the entrance examination for lack of school fees. While empathizing with the lady's plight and offering compassionate words, I knew I was not going to be of much help as I was a full-time, struggling graduate student in the US at the time, and also in need. “Osong eti-eti eka (it's really hard, woman),” was my response. However, by providence I shared the lady's story with a group of friends who visited with me a few days later. The radiance exuding from their smiles encouraging they can support me to assist him lighted me up. By the end of our meeting, pledges and donations for that cause amounted to 52,200 naira, equivalent to 250 USD at the time as a scholarship.
The encounter with the lady and the generosity of those friends got me deeply reflecting on how a child's life can be cut off from education and how not being able to learn a skilled trade due to abject poverty and lack of financial support could impede a child's potential. These thoughts gave birth to Hope Education Mission (HEM), with the aim of supporting the education of the poorest of the poor and the underprivileged children in my community of Okopedi Okobo and its surroundings in Nigeria. Since 2015, Hope Education Mission has provided tuition to indigent children and sponsor others in skill-acquisition training across the board. What defines Hope Education Mission is “the education of the young for empowerment (giving nets for each child to go fishing) in order to empower themselves, and to recognize, discover, and realize their potential.”
Please, consider partnering with Hope Education Outreach in fostering its mission. What special gift you might want to give to help in the ongoing education of the poorest of the poor children will be appreciated. As it says in Proverbs 11:25, “When you refresh the lives of other people, God will refresh you with his joy and presence.”
With much gratitude!
Fr. Livinus Anweting, PhD.
Founding Director, Hope Education Mission
