A Village Girl's Dream Came True

“As the first child of a rubber tapper laborer, a university degree was far from Elisa's dream. The TransformNation program is not only a dream coming true, but has been transforming her to become an educator, leader and mentor to many students.”

“It’s like a dream coming true,” Elisa explains her joyful feeling remembering the first time she heard that she got a scholarship to the TransformNation (TfN) program. “I couldn’t believe that there were people who cared. I am amazed that people would show kindness to a stranger like me…”

Elisa’s amazement is lucid. As the first child of a rubber tapper laborer, a university degree was far from her dream. Her village only has one junior high school. All she knew was that she needed to get a job as quickly as possible after

finishing high school, to help her parents and siblings. “I remember working ten hour days, for a  water purification company, filling bottles for sale,” she said. “I liked it because I got some money.” Since childhood, she could feel the urgency to make a lot of money. She recalls: “There was someone who insulted our family because we were poor…”

Despite her determination to work, her parents and aunt insisted that she needed to find a way to continue her education. Thanks to their persistence, she received information about the TfN scholarship and applied. “Every time I visited my aunt, she joked that the fruit of her labor sounded like ‘pencils, books, a school bag, shoes…’ I didn’t understand, but now I know that her priority was our education.”

Looking back, Elisa recognizes that God had been sending her guidance all along through mentors who helped shape her. They were her parents, family members and teachers. In TfN, she even got a private mentor, the first person who taught her how crucial it was to have an intimate relationship with God. “I knew about Christianity my whole life, but I felt an emptiness inside me. In the second month of the TfN program, I decided to truly surrender my heart to God.” Elisa realized that she held bitterness and resentment against the person who had insulted her family.

“Now I can walk in peace and joy. These people brought me closer to God and, step by step, I learned from their kindness, availability, teaching, advice and support.”

Now, as a TfN student in her final year, she feels excited that she will soon be sent out to teach. “I want to share my life with children. One of my biggest dreams now is becoming a mentor. I am here because of them, and I want to be like them. I have learned so much from them about how to care and share my life with others.”

Elisa says that the biggest form of support that children in villages need is a leader who can reveal their potential to them. “Children need leaders to show them the way. Who are willing to help them unleash their potential and renew their minds so they can decide and choose what is best. I want to teach them to not be afraid of dreaming big.”

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