Age: 26
Family status: Lives alone, but will be married in September
Occupation: Extension worker for BERDO, specializing in gender equality
“Rich people with poor heads are going to school, while poor people with rich heads rot in the villages”
Amos is frustrated. He is intelligent, skilled, and knowledgeable, yet he struggles to get by. He places a huge importance on education. He is frustrated because although he is good at his job he does not have the papers of higher education, which would allow him to get a better job. “I am happy to see the changes in the community, and I am good at what I do, but I work very hard and only get a peanut in return” he tells me.
Amos’s father died when he was in his first year of secondary school. From then on he was in school only when his sister; who was supporting him and 3 siblings, had enough money left over for school fees. After secondary school he worked for an organization doing agricultural work. He learned many skills; however they refused to give him any qualifications out of fear of him leaving them for another organization. He then worked for an organization which tried to get girls to stay in school. After that project ended, he had to look for a new job. He ended up working for BERDO and specializing in gender equality practices.
What Amos is really passionate about is writing. He writes essays, poems, short stories, and plays. There was a time when he would write and act plays to make a little money to get by on. One day a friend came to him and told him about a writing contest which provided a scholarship for first prize. His friend told him he would help him if he showed him some of his work. Amos put together a large collection of his writing and gave it to his friend. Some time went by and Amos asked his friend what the results of the contest had been. His friend told him he had not heard. Amos later found out that his work had won first prize, but his “friend” had entered it under his own name and claimed the scholarship.
It is hard to say how he feels about his future. He is currently working his way through a certificate in rural development to try and enhances his skills and qualification, but he still feels very stuck in his environment. He has recently become engaged and will be starting a family of his own. He says “maybe God will have something for me in the future.”
Family status: Lives alone, but will be married in September
Occupation: Extension worker for BERDO, specializing in gender equality
“Rich people with poor heads are going to school, while poor people with rich heads rot in the villages”
Amos is frustrated. He is intelligent, skilled, and knowledgeable, yet he struggles to get by. He places a huge importance on education. He is frustrated because although he is good at his job he does not have the papers of higher education, which would allow him to get a better job. “I am happy to see the changes in the community, and I am good at what I do, but I work very hard and only get a peanut in return” he tells me.
Amos’s father died when he was in his first year of secondary school. From then on he was in school only when his sister; who was supporting him and 3 siblings, had enough money left over for school fees. After secondary school he worked for an organization doing agricultural work. He learned many skills; however they refused to give him any qualifications out of fear of him leaving them for another organization. He then worked for an organization which tried to get girls to stay in school. After that project ended, he had to look for a new job. He ended up working for BERDO and specializing in gender equality practices.
What Amos is really passionate about is writing. He writes essays, poems, short stories, and plays. There was a time when he would write and act plays to make a little money to get by on. One day a friend came to him and told him about a writing contest which provided a scholarship for first prize. His friend told him he would help him if he showed him some of his work. Amos put together a large collection of his writing and gave it to his friend. Some time went by and Amos asked his friend what the results of the contest had been. His friend told him he had not heard. Amos later found out that his work had won first prize, but his “friend” had entered it under his own name and claimed the scholarship.
It is hard to say how he feels about his future. He is currently working his way through a certificate in rural development to try and enhances his skills and qualification, but he still feels very stuck in his environment. He has recently become engaged and will be starting a family of his own. He says “maybe God will have something for me in the future.”
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