AT THE immature age of 20, when most young men are still struggling to grow a beard, Micheal Nyirongo was forcefully shoved into marriage by his mother after he completed secondary school.
Born and bred in a deep, dust coated village called Jege in Chief Magodi’s chiefdom of Chasefu District, Eastern Province, Micheal never imagined he would one day find himself in Lusaka and breathe the same air as Slap Dee. And that is because, dreams of higher education rarely go beyond whispers and wishes in villages.
“I used to just hear about Lusaka on the radio. Now I’m here because of the bursary I got from CDF, without CDF, I don’t think I could have known Lusaka and be in school at one of the country’s largest institutions, Evelyn Hone,” said Micheal.
After completing senior secondary school at Chasefu Secondary, Micheal did what many ambitious rural students do. He applied to the University of Zambia and Copperbelt University and against all odds, he was accepted to both.
Unfortunately, university acceptance letters don’t come with a receipt for tuition fees.
With no money, no bursary and no backup plan, Micheal’s mother made the executive decision of marrying off her son, believing that no one was going to fund his education.
“She just said, get married. There’s no money for school and that’s how I was forced to marry, Micheal told Kalemba.
And just like that, at 20, with hopes of Biomedical Engineering quietly buried under a chitenge wedding ceremony, Micheal became a husband, not because he wanted to—but because poverty said it was time.
But then came a miracle disguised in policy under the UPND government, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The fund offered real-life bursaries, not just promises on political posters.
Despite already being married and a father to one, Micheal wasn’t ready to surrender his dreams.
He gathered the little hope he had left, approached his local councillor, picked up the CDF bursary forms and submitted his acceptance letter from Evelyn Hone College.
Fortunately, Micheal made the list of selected candidates from Chasefu and today he is in Lusaka, studying Biomedical Engineering at Evelyn Hone College and still amazed at the urban life he never thought he would live.
He urged government to continue with the CDF programme not just for students, but for all the forgotten dreamers in the remote corners of the country.
“There are so many boys and girls out there who are forced into marriages just because they can’t afford school. CDF bursaries can save them just like it saved me.”
“I don’t lack anything in school because the CDF bursaries offer both tution, accommodation and meal allowances. Even the uniform I’m wearing, CDF pays for me,” said Michael.
From the dusty paths of Jege to the lecture halls of Evelyn Hone, Micheal’s story is proof that even when life forces your hand, it’s still possible to rewrite the script and breathe the same air as Yo Maps while you are at it.
Story and pictures by Catherine Pule
Kalemba, May 19, 2025
