Meet One of our Chimpanzee Conservation Scholarship Scheme (CHICS) Recipients for the 2016/2017 Academic Year.

‘My name is Effem Mariana Mbenda from Esoki bima village’. ‘I am 14 and the second from a family of 5’. ‘My mum is a house wife and my father has been a peasant farmer/hunter till he became visually impaired two years ago when I completed primary school in the village. Since then my elder brother received support from my paternal aunt and is undergoing vocational training in Mundemba while I have been left at home to support my mum and even other relatives to baby sit and perform other house chose. I  wondered  why my case was different whenever I saw other young girls like me in secondary school uniforms going to school. I will shed tears sometimes.

…'Then my mum came back home one evening and told me an unbelievable story, one that will make my dreams come true'. ‘The village has nominated you for a scholarship to attend secondary school in Mundemba’, she said. ‘What?’ I asked in disbelieve. When she repeated herself and explained that it was coming from the ‘Korup people’, I could not hold my excitement as I sobbed in the comfort of her arms. ‘Since I came to Mundemba and put on my secondary school uniform, I feel very proud and different. Though we have had no regular school, I have learnt a lot already from the private classes and other activities and I can’t afford to take this opportunity for granted’.

We thank all those who made this possible for Mariana; the PSMNR-SWR, Buea, and Rotary Club of Peace River, Canada. Mariana would have ended up in that village without this scholarship but now she can hope to become a nurse and help her family and community one day.