Rachel

My name is Rachel. I live in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with my mother, two sisters, two brothers and three nephews. I am the eighth child in my family of nine children. Our father died last year; his death has been the greatest challenge of my life. My father was the one who encouraged me to become a doctor. His death opened my eyes and helped me trust in Jesus, not in man, because I have Jesus for eternity.

I grew up in a church-going, Christian family, however, I struggled with friends in high school who influenced me to not attend school, which caused me to fail one year. My father and this experience pushed me to follow the positive influences in my life. Young Life also helped me with this. I began my relationship with Jesus at my first Young Life camp. I first heard about Young Life from my brother, who is now a team leader in Kolwezi. At first, my father would not let me go because he was concerned that it was only for boys. When he let me go to my first club I loved it so much. I started leading WyldLife and campaigners before becoming a Young Life leader.

With Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am studying science and medicine at the University of Lubumbashi. I want to become a pharmaceutical specialist to impact my community and patients and to help my mother financially. She is the primary caregiver for our family and is unable to work because of heart problems. I also plan to use my scholarship to recruit and train more Young Life leaders and to start six more clubs.