Nathan, Age 12
Two years ago, Nathan relocated from Nimba County to a suburb of Monrovia to stay with his grandmother. Many rural Liberians send their children to relatives living in Monrovia to allow them to have better access to opportunities.
However, for the last four years, Nathan has been unable to continue his schooling. His illiterate grandmother, who had promised Nathan’s parents that she would enroll him in a school, does not generate enough money for school fees.
She and Nathan survive by selling herbs, but the funds from those sales are only enough to feed them. Prior to joining Second Chance, he had only completed a Pre-K program.
“I used to feel bad because my friends were going to school, but I was not in school,” he says.
Since entering the Luminos program, Nathan says he has regained his happiness. He can recite the 26 letters of the alphabet, he knows his numbers, and he can now spell three-letter-words. He now sees his dream of becoming a medical doctor as much more attainable.
