This essay is one of 35 selected by a panel of judges for “Ambitions Interrupted,” a series from The GroundTruth Project and YouthVoices, its storytelling platform.
Name: Teddy Mukuka
Age: 16
Dream Job: Surgeon
City, Country: Lusaka, Zambia
Current job/school: High school student
Challenge: Can’t afford university
My dream is to become a surgeon and help advance the medical services in Zambia. In my community, there aren’t many role models to look up to. It’s rare to hear about success stories and people who had the privilege of a great education. Instead, I often hear about young people roaming the streets, involved with substance abuse or theft.
If I had someone to look up to, I’d feel less anxious about accomplishing my dream.
I understand what it means to work hard, and I want to be a surgeon so that I can help advance Zambia’s medical system. If our health care system improves, I believe our country will become more attractive for its safety. However, there are few opportunities for me to get involved with medicine or gain the right experience. But it hasn’t discouraged me – I’m convinced that I can make it.
A lot of people around me – including neighbors, family and friends – have different career paths, so they think they know what’s best for me. Sometimes, this depresses me because I expect full support from them. They try to convince me to become a teacher instead, but that just isn’t my dream.
My main challenge is money. Education has become way too expensive for our generation, especially for people like me who are coming from a middle class family and have other siblings. I doubt that my guardians will be able to afford my university education – they already face difficulties covering our academic needs now.
To reach my goal, I chose pure sciences and mathematics at school so that I might be eligible for a university scholarship after my grade 12 national exams. There are some chances for people like me to get scholarships from the government, but it’s probably one out of a billion. Great fear strikes me when I think about the lucky ones who get a scholarship – I need this to make my dream career into a reality.
It is my devout hope to be one of the best surgeons, a good role model and an inspiration to young people who will go through what I am experiencing now. And just because no one believes in me doesn’t mean that I’ll stop. I will build hospitals and clinics in Zambia someday.
This story was originally submitted to YouthVoices, a platform powered by The GroundTruth Project that encourages young people to share stories about the issues affecting their generation. Submit your own essays and answer new questions here, or learn more about global youth unemployment with this interactive map.