Bekka

My name "Bekka" has been changed for my security. I live in a large city in Mali, with my brother, his wife, his two kids and my sister in a small house. I grew up in a big family with many children. We were very poor, and my mother and I were always sick. There were some days when we did not have food to eat or money to pay for school fees. My life has had many challenges, the greatest of these was my mother’s untimely death. These factors all affected my education. However, I was determined to finish school and at times, I worked as a cook to pay for my clothes and transportation for school.

I came to know Jesus late in high school through my sister who invited me to church. I gave my life to Him. Later, I found out about Young Life through a friend and started going. I am now a team leader and am passionate about sharing the love of Jesus to teens in my community. In my life I have experienced first-hand many difficult experiences and I want to show teens that God’s power is given to pass through every trial.

As a recipient of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am studying nutrition at a local university in my home town in Mali. I am not able to attend school without this scholarship. I want to be a nutritionist so that I can help others living in poverty fight against bad nutrition and find foods that are good for their health. I also want to continue leading Young Life and raising up new leaders.