daniel chigunweTHIS week we reported the story of a whizz kid who dreams of becoming a chemical engineer in the future and the fears that he might never realise his dreams.
Lionel Paradza, 16, attained 8 As and a B in his O-Level examinations.
But, he comes from a family which is so poor they even failed to raise money to enable him to clear the school’s arrears and collect his results to enable him to secure an A-Level spot.
Lionel looked for us to tell the story and hoped that someone out there could come and help him.
For us, it is humbling to realise that we have a constituency out there, which includes people like Lionel, who believe that we are the best medium through which their stories can be heard.
We don’t take that for granted.
We know it places a huge responsibility on us to jealously guard that status and even strive to do more.
Lionel told us that he would like to study abroad but currently he is grounded as he is battling for financial assistance to help him collect his results and get an A-Level enrolment.
He revealed he was staying with his father and he has lost all hope and that has left him looking for other alternatives where he can get help.
Lionel said his immediate task was just to secure a place in Form 5 and failure to do so will lead him into depression.
His dream is to become a chemical engineer.
Lionel faced similar challenges when he passed his Grade 7 examination.
His father fell sick and it was a tough situation for him but Lionel managed to write his exams and came out with five units.
He was at Hwiru Primary School in Gutu and then enrolled at Dadaya High School for his secondary education.
In the countdown to his O-Level exams, he was getting 8As and a B.
He said all along he had been getting a B in English but during his final O-Level examination he had an A in English and a B in Biology.
He was studying Chemistry, Biology, Geography, English, Shona, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics.
We ran Lionel’s story because we believe that this is someone who really needs help.
There is no question that he comes from a very poor family and all his education, from the time he was in primary school, has been a struggle.
But, Lionel did not choose to be born poor.
Somehow, it ended up being his fate that he had to be born poor.
However, that should not be a barrier for him to chase his dreams and he knows that his only way out of all this is to get a decent education.
There is no question that Lionel is a genius and we should find a way to ensure that he is helped to go all the way to university and study to be a chemical engineer.
We appeal to everyone who can help to come forward and help Lionel.
