It’s a good thing that Grace has two fathers. Because her dreams would require the support of both of them.
Grace has always wanted to be a teacher. At the Compassion center she attended, she would hang on to every word her tutors said and also volunteer to teach Sunday school classes. Her dream was evident to everyone.
But her parents worried. They knew that Grace’s dream would require a university education. And her father’s job as a carpenter brought in around $5 a day – but that was only when he could find work. He could barely provide food for his wife and five children.
“My parents were glad that at an early age I already knew what career I wanted to take, but they didn’t make any promises,” says Grace. “They just said they would do their best to send me to college when the time came.”
When Grace was 17, that time came. She passed her entrance exams and enrolled in an education program at a nearby college. But there was one problem. Grace couldn’t pay her fees. She got a job and did her best, but after just two months, Grace had to drop out because she couldn’t afford tuition.
“I didn’t tell my friends that I quit school, but I felt I needed to tell my sponsor, Joseph, because he is like a second father to me,” says Grace. “It’s just that I can feel his love, like I am a part of his family despite the fact that we are very far away.”