Elizabeth and Deng's story

“You need to have money for your children’s education and you also need money for survival, and sometimes it’s very hard to have both those things,” says Elizabeth, mother of four children, two of whom are supported by Learning for Life sponsorships.

Before resettling in Australia in 2005, Elizabeth was living in a refugee camp in Kenya. While she values education highly, her family’s financial circumstances mean that the opportunities Elizabeth can offer her children are limited. Elizabeth’s eldest son, Deng has been supported through Learning for Life since 2012. Now in Year 5, he has settled well into school, has many friends, and is an eager participant in The Smith Family’s reading program, student2student.

“If a child knows how to read and how to spell then they can progress in their education. It’s a beautiful thing to listen to him reading his books out loud so well. Where else would we get this support? At the school there are so many children, and it’s hard for me to help him with my language,” explains Elizabeth.

Elizabeth has seen real improvements in Deng’s reading and spelling, and as Deng says “It’s a really big help for my future."