By GETHSEMANE MWIZABI –

LIFE has plenty of twists and turns.  For 17-year-old Hilda Mhango,  she attempted to cut short her life because she did not have money to pay for her education.
After swallowing a cocktail of 25 tablets that included panadol, indocin and flagyl, she was sure of crossing over to the world of the dead, as the last option to her personal problems.
She had bought the tablets from a Kantemba (make-shift stall) within the community in Ndola’s Kabushi Township.

. Hilda

Hilda recalls that,  after she took the tablets, she instantly grew very weak and begun jerking and throwing herself all over the place while at the same time, gasping for breath.
Her eyes popped out of the sockets while she foamed on her mouth.
Lost for words, her elder sister and a good samaritan in the neighbourhood,  noticed something strange when they entered the room where she had locked herself up.
Within a  short time, Hilda was rushed to Ndola Central hospital (NCH), where she was resuscitated.
After passing her grade seven, she came to a conclusion that life had no meaning and that,  it was best for her to get permanently erased from the face of the earth, considering her circumstances.
“I had plenty of questions for tomorrow. My sister I am living with, just sells portions of charcoal to earn a living,” she explained.
But unlike, the 16 year-old University of Zambia (UNZA) student who successfully committed suicide after failing to secure a bursary last year, Hilda’s time had not come.
“At some point, I felt as if  my spirit was living my body. I saw people surrounding me, but couldn’t quite understand what they were saying,” she said,  recalling that fateful January day.
Having lost both her parents, the support structure was shaken, which is why her hope was at an all time low, and at that point, she was vulnerable to any suicidal thoughts.
“I will never forget how I begun acting. The thoughts of suicide wouldn’t leave my mind because I had been through so much for my age besides my failed suicide attempts,” she said.
Having lost both parents in a single year and being a last born in the family of four, she had hopes and dreams of leading a better life through getting educated.
“My parents had cars and a farm in Masaiti but things went down the drain after they passed away. One of  the cars was burned by some relatives,” said the teenager who still  lives with an elder sister in Kabushi Township.
After, the death of her parents in the village, life became unbearable, which is why she moved to Kabushi to live with her elder sister, a single mother of one, living in a tiny mud house.
Even after she survived the suicide attempt, that idea never left her. She contemplated on attempting another one. This time around, she wanted to  take something more fatal than the 25 tablets she swallowed days earlier.
At the back of her mind, she hatched an idea of buying doom, the insect killer. She had heard of fatal stories about doom and thought it would do a much better job.
“I couldn’t take it anymore.   I had no one to pay for my school fees,” she said.
She kept telling children in the neighbourhood that she would kill herself to put her troubles to the rest. Kids in the neighbourhood thought she was just sharing fairy tales with them.
Every now and so often, she would imagine her own death as though it was something fun. She literary became obsessed with the idea and began to withdraw from interactions.
“I thought I had nothing to live for. I felt sorry for myself and the poverty of my sister,” she said.
Before she could proceed with executing her mission, some women in the neighbourhood, got hold of her and took time to counsel her as tears rolled out of her eyes. That is how the suicide mission was abandoned.
True, without education, a child’s future is bleak. Frequently, lack of education condemns a child to living in the streets and sometimes to engaging in crime or prostitution.
As PANOS Institute of Southern Africa director Lilian Kiefer recently put it, adolescence is a defining period in the growth of a young person. Supporting young people to successfully navigate this stage of life can help break the cycle of poverty and produce great benefits for individuals, communities, and countries.
For a child without education, life can be harsh, as it turned out for Hilda.
Without doubt, education is not only a human right, but it is also an essential tool for individuals to break the poverty cycle and to building the human capital of any nation.
According to UNCEF, Zambia is home to six million children under the age of 18  out of which, four  million children are of the primary school age (7-14). Though Zambia has made commendable progress in increasing access and gender parity, more than a quarter million children are out of school and 47 per cent  of those enrolled in school do not complete the primary cycle.
Hilda was almost relegated to that fate, until her story spread like wildfire. One of those who heard her story was Pastor Christian Bwalya, whose church New Life Mushili congregation runs a social protection programme for underprivileged children.  She was enrolled for the programme that only carters for her school fees and some books. The programme under what is called the Mercy Ministry supports several children in primary and secondary schools across Ndola.
“When I got to hear about her story, my heart bled. Right away we put her on the scholarship programme,” he said.
Hilda is now in grade nine at Ndola’s Dambo Basic School.  Her scholarship programme would cover her up to grade 12. At the moment the Mercy Ministry project supports 30 children.
“We want to support more kids and we want to do so much for the underprivilleged,” the pastor said.
After going through a rough patch, her dream is to become a lawyer, so she can represent the under privileged in society.
“There are  lots of people out there seeking justice but they are poor and continue to live in the sidelines of society. I want to be a voice for the voiceless,” she said.
Ultimately, she is grateful to Pastor Bwalya and the team for stepping in to save her day. She has now dreamt again and cannot stop thinking about tomorrow.
Her struggles are not over yet.
Her Brother only washes cars for a living and the other sister is married in the village.
“Sometimes I wonder what  life would be like with my  family. I want to help uplift their livelihood someday,” she said.
To get where she lives with her his sister you have to snake your way through several make-shift cabins; some of them made of mud, like the one she stays in. When it rains, the tiny ramshackle, they call a house, leaks to a point of getting flooded.
While rains come with good news for farmers, Hilda and her elder sister dread them. Since her scholarship only covers for her tuition, she needs more support to meet other needs like proper shelter and empowerment for her sister who looks after her.