His Impossible Dream Was to Go to School
When Jean was only 4 years old, he lost his mother. He never even knew his father. He thinks his mother died of illness, but he’s not sure, and no one could ever tell him anything about his father.
Luckily, he was able to go to live with his grandmother. Still, he says, “Life was not at all easy, but I was just a kid and couldn’t understand at the time.” Jean’s grandmother wanted better for him, but better felt out of reach—impossible.
Now Jean’s greatest hope was to learn a trade, but as an orphan, he would likely end up in the fields or else on the streets, begging or stealing just to get by.
Sadly, orphans like Jean are usually exploited. In Ivory Coast, 7 out of 10 children ages 5 to 17 are forced to work to survive, and thousands become slaves. In the cocoa and coffee fields, they work long hours, sometimes all through the night. They carry loads that are too heavy for them. They are exposed to toxic agrochemicals and forced to use dangerous tools. And they are physically and verbally abused.
The streets aren’t any better. Usually worse.
It looked like Jean would never know the love and care of a mother and father. It looked like his hope of ever setting foot in school was over. And he was only 4 years old.
Jean needed a safe place to live, heal, and grow up.
One day, his grandmother heard about the nonprofit Enfance Meurtrie Sans Frontières (EMSF) from a friend. She learned that the staff there took care of those who had been displaced by war, widows, and orphans. Maman Augustine (one of the cofounders) was helping all of these people as best she could, but she had not started an orphanage yet.
To serve the orphans better, Maman Augustine and the staff of EMSF decided to open an orphanage called Le Prince Orphanage. Its objective is to make children with no future “princes” and “princesses.”
Jean became one of EMSF’s first orphans.
Jean says, "In this orphanage, I, who never believed I would say the words 'mom' and 'dad' again, received two amazing parents filled with love and affection and a new, big family. And thanks to God, and thanks to these two wonderful people, my dearest dream of going to school finally came true.”
He started school in 2005. Since then, and with a “flawless record,” as he says, he has received his high school diploma and has completed his certification in Commercial Management, and he is currently pursuing his degree in Marketing and Communication at a local university in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Jean says, “What I can take away from this little experience is that God has a plan for each of us. And it's not how your life begins that matters, but rather what God has in store for you in His wonderful plan. It is true that I still have a long way to go, but I never imagined getting to where I am right now.
“The dearest desire of my heart, my daily prayer, is that after my studies, God will give me the means to give back all that I have benefited from to other children who find themselves in a story like mine."
