Maliki: Rising From the Shadows

Shattered Childhood, Endless Hunger

Maliki was just a young girl when her life was torn apart. In Grade 7, her father—the family’s sole breadwinner—passed away suddenly, leaving her mother to care for Maliki and her siblings alone.

Their small home became a place of quiet desperation. Her mother, who had never worked outside the home, spent long days under the scorching sun, tending to tiny plots of maize and vegetables. She sold what she could just to scrape together food. Some nights, the family went to bed hungry, praying for a better tomorrow that seemed impossibly far away.

“I remember nights when my stomach ached from hunger and my heart ached from fear,” Maliki recalls, tears streaming. “I wondered how we would survive. I wondered if I would ever see a future worth fighting for.” But even in the darkness, a small spark refused to die. Maliki clung to her books, studying at night. Each page she read became a promise to herself: she would not let life’s hardships define her

A Ray of Hope: Mentorship and the Girls Club

“Everything changed when I joined the ISEPE Girls Club at 12 years. Maliki begins, her eyes glistening with emotion. “For the first time, I felt like someone believed in me — in my dreams, in my future.” Before the club, life had been a daily struggle, filled with worry and quiet despair.

“Sometimes I felt invisible,” she says softly. “Like my dreams didn’t matter.” The club became more than just a meeting place, it became her safe haven. “They gave me uniforms, stationery, and sanitary pads. It may sound small, but for me, it was everything. It gave me my dignity back,” she shares with a grateful smile. “One of the mentor’s husbands even bought me school shoes. I’ll never forget that day. It felt like a miracle, like God had remembered me.”

As she speaks, her tone shifts, filled with both reflection and pain. “Many girls my age didn’t make it this far,” she says quietly. “Some dropped out of school, some got married early, and others became mothers before they were ready. Sometimes I look at them and think, that could have been me. But the club saved me.”

Maliki explains how the mentorship changed the way she saw herself. “The mentors didn’t just talk to us; they believed in us. They taught me that I could be more than my situation. I learned to be strong, to be confident, to speak up, and to dream big — even when life was hard.”

"For the first time in my life, I felt hope again,” she says, her voice steady now. I started to believe that I could make it, that I could work hard and achieve my goals. The Girls Club taught me that my story didn’t have to end in poverty or early marriage, it could begin with possibility.” She pauses, then adds quietly, “The club didn’t just change my life, it gave me one.”

Triumph Through Resilience

"I used to wake up before sunrise to help my mother in the fields,” Maliki begins, her voice carrying both strength and memory. “We would work until our hands hurt, then I’d rush to school, tired but determined.” Every morning was a fight to keep her dreams alive. “Sometimes I studied by candlelight when we had no electricity,” she recalls softly. “I told myself, if I just keep going, maybe one day life will be different.” Her persistence paid off when she passed her high school exams with excellent results, but the joy was short-lived. “It was heartbreaking,” she says. “I had done everything right, but we didn’t have the money for college. It felt like my dreams were slipping away.”

Her mentor refused to let her give up and encouraged her to apply for a Global Sojourns Giving Circle (GSGC) scholarship. “I was nervous,” she admits. “I thought maybe it wasn’t for girls like me — girls who come from poverty.” But her courage led her to a breakthrough. “When I got the news that I had received the scholarship, I couldn’t stop crying. It felt like life had finally seen me. GSGC saved my dreams, it gave me a second chance at life” With that chance, she began her studies at Yeta College of Nursing and Midwifery, facing long hours and tough lessons. “It wasn’t easy,” she says. “But every time I wanted to give up, I remembered where I came from.”

Her first delivery as a nursing student remains unforgettable. “My hands were shaking, my heart was racing, but when I heard the baby cry, I cried too. I knew then that all the pain and struggle had meaning.”

Maliki (far right) with some of her student friends

Today, Maliki stands as a beacon of hope. “When I look back, I see a girl who refused to give up, even when everything said she should,” she says proudly. “Now I dream not just for myself, but for my siblings and for every girl who thinks poverty is the end of her story.” Her words carry quiet power: “No matter how dark life gets, there is always a way forward. We are stronger than we think.” Maliki’s journey is proof that with resilience, mentorship, and faith, even the deepest struggles can blossom into triumph.