Moreblessing (Morebie)

Me on the left when I was in secondary school in 2017 – I knew where I was going! Listen to a recording I made for a community radio station in 2017. On the right is a picture of me on the day I graduated with my Economics Degree (December 10, 2021).

My name is Moreblessing, but most people call me Morebie. I am a CAMFED Association member from Guruve District in Zimbabwe.

I started receiving CAMFED support in 2014, when I was in Form 3 (the third year of lower secondary school). I was at the verge of dropping out of school. My parents relied on horticulture, growing food on a very small piece of land, using tins for irrigation. Then my mother fell sick, which I attribute to how hard she worked, trying to raise enough money to put food on the table, and for school fees. It became difficult for her to harvest the vegetables and take them to the market. I would spend weeks without attending school due to lack of school fees.

Fortunately, my community selected me for CAMFED support, and CAMFED offered a helping hand. We were given sanitary pads, school uniforms, stationery and examination fees. So when I got the chance, I was relieved, comforted, motivated to study hard, and delighted. 

Growing up I wanted to be a doctor, but everything changed when I was in Form 3 when I started doing Business Studies. I developed a passion for business, studying the behavior of an economy as a whole, pricing systems, and everything to do with the movement of money. I remember saying that girls should be allowed to go to school for women’s empowerment, for the value of women in society, for development of our economy, and for a better future through reduced early marriages.

I wrote my Ordinary Level exams and obtained nine subjects. With continued CAMFED support, I then proceeded to Advanced Level (senior high school), where I studied Mathematics, Business Studies and Economics. I scored 10 points. This was enough to get me a place in university.

After completing my high school, I joined the CAMFED Association of women leaders, and I was elected a cluster chairperson. I am thankful for the great exposure I continually get through the network, and this position was a solid training in transformative leadership for me.  I was trained as a Transition Guide, delivering Sexual and Reproductive Health sessions, financial education, career guidance and Information Communication Technology training to young women who had just finished Ordinary Level (the first four years of secondary learning).  I am a BTEC certificate holder – that is a qualification I earned for being a Transition Guide.

I then applied to study Economics at the University of Zimbabwe, and I was fortunately offered a place. I was now confident that one day my dream of becoming an economist is going to come true. CAMFED sponsored my three-year course, paying for my tuition, accommodation and meals during my  journey in university.

When online learning became the learning modality due to COVID-19 lockdowns, CAMFED supported us with the funds to purchase learning bundles. The provision of stipends should never be under rated. I could follow learning sessions, submit assignments online, and research online, just like my other colleagues in college. Now I am a proud Economist. I am still that Moreblessing, but now with so much to offer to my family, my community, the CAMFED Association, and the globe at large.

Thanks to CAMFED and the CAMFED Association I got the support I needed, and the motivation to make sure that each and every child like me gets access to education. Without CAMFED support, even going to Advanced Level (completing senior high school) was a dream that was never to come true.

I am now helping learners in my community by forming study groups. In the study groups, we are tackling Mathematics and business-related subjects, especially supporting the girls. I am also now a Guide Intern in my district, scaling up CAMFED’s Learner Guide Program and making sure that Learner Guides deliver sessions and submit reports well in time.

Read video transcript

I am excited that I am directly contributing to the goal of reaching 5 million girls! With the entrepreneurship knowledge I acquired at college, I am helping young women in business to calculate profit and losses, and with double entry bookkeeping and record keeping.

Together We Can tackle poverty!