CSF Mom Sara is a single parent to her children, Farida and Fawzane. Farida is a CSF Scholar currently in the fourth grade at St. Charles Borromeo School in Harlem. CSF alum Fawzane graduated from St. Charles last year and is now a freshman at St. Raymond’s High School for Boys in the Bronx. Both children used CSF scholarships since the beginning of their time at St. Charles.
Sara is adamant that her children receive a quality education because of her own experience: “Education is very important. I look at my life and I see that education is the key to everything. When you have a diploma, no matter how long it takes to get it, it makes you able to live your life. It is a struggle if you don’t have an education.”
Sara’s family relocated to New York in 2003 from Togo, in West Africa, and Farida was the first to be born in the U.S. She says, “I am struggling. It’s a sacrifice to send my kids to school. In Togo, I didn’t go to college. I got my GED in 2011 and started classes at LaGuardia Community College to become an LPN. Hopefully, I can finish that soon.”
In the past six months, Sara has undergone some major changes in her life, including a divorce from her husband and the loss of her job as a home health aide. The family of three recently moved into a shelter and, slowly, Sara has been putting the pieces back together to find a new job and a new apartment. In the meantime, she is thankful that CSF has allowed her to keep Farida at St. Charles, giving her stability at a time when she needs it most. This September, she was among a small group of schoolchildren who met Pope Francis during his visit to New York.
Despite all the family’s challenges, Farida and Fawzane are thriving academically, and Sara is hopeful about the future: “Farida is picking things up really quickly, she especially loves math. She also likes singing. She goes to the afterschool programs every day. Fawzane is doing his best, and I really appreciate his hard work. He is interested in writing and reads a lot. He also likes science and math, it comes easy to him. He cannot wait to go to college and wants to be an engineer or an inventor. Farida has always said she wants to be a teacher. I hope that they can finish their education and have their dreams come true.”
“I appreciate everything CSF is doing to help my kids and me. I am so grateful that people care and provide scholarships for families,” Sara told us.