Writers 
Amara was a little girl in a small village, where the land was green, and there were lovely farms. She was a quiet, hard working girl with a big dream. She wished to become a teacher and enable children in her village to get a good education.
Amara was born into a poor family. Her father was a farmer and her mother sold vegetables at the village market. Amara walked several kilometres each morning to school as her parents did not have the money for transport.
Even in spite of all the trouble, Amara enjoyed school. She took care to listen to her teachers and studied by the light of a small kerosene lamp every night.
This is the year Amara had to deal with her greatest challenges. Her father became gravely ill and was no longer able to farm. The family had been unable to afford food and the cost of Amara's education had come to be a near insurmountable obstacle.
That evening, her mother phoned and told her that she would not be able to send her off to school.
Amara's heart sank. She had been working so hard for her dream. Tears came down her face, but she didn't give up.
“Mother,” she replied, “I will find a way. I promise.”
On the following morning Amara started to assist villagers in various jobs. She collected water, worked on farms with her mother, scrubbed floors and sold vegetables. All the little money she made she saved for school.
There were some people who laughed at her.
“Waste your time,” one man said to her. Poor family kids seldom have big dreams.
Amara did not let his words deter her. Rather, she put more effort in.
Her determination finally attracted the attention of her teacher, Mrs. Grace, after some months. She found out how much effort Amara had to put in to stay in school. Mrs. Grace, impressed by her bravery, approached the School Principal.
The school decided to provide Amara with a scholarship.
When Amara heard the news, she could hardly believe it. She hugged her mother and she cried with happiness.
Amara had never studied as hard as she did from that day on! She had a variety of hard tests to endure, some tests she failed, and on some days she was tired. She knew, though, that when things failed she would have to remember one thing: Surrendering would make her dream impossible.
Amara later went back to her village, after graduating from university, as a qualified teacher.
The first day of school, she scanned the youngsters before her and smiled.
“When I was a child I used to sit where you are sitting,” she said to them. I had to deal with many difficult things, like poverty, failure and discouragement, but it never gave me up.
The children were very attentive.
Amara became one of the most trusted teachers of the village. She enabled countless young people to think that their situation would not be a limitation of their future.
Her story was a lesson which was never forgotten:
You may experience problems, you may fall, you may even fail, but if you won't give up, your dream is still alive.