Francis is no stranger to challenge. When his father died in 1987, he was forced to drop out of first grade for lack of money, but soon found work in the market selling fruit and firewood, allowing him to return to school. There were times when he had no shoes, little food, and even less money, but he always found a way to make it through. As his mother used to say, Francis has “no limits.”
Upon entering university, Francis got in touch with S4Si and received full funding for his education. For the first time in his life he did not have to worry about money. He quickly became the highest performing student at the National Institute of Information Technology, even though he had never used a computer before his first semester. After graduation, S4Si funded Francis to study for an international IT security certification exam in South Africa and becoming the first ever Zimbabwean to hold such a security certification, The CISSP.
It was this certification which allowed him to begin and successfully complete a training internship with Ernst & Young. Currently he is employed by Deloitte Consulting.
He furthered his education by taking other certifications which include the CISA, CISM, MCAD and MCSC. Net certifications.
Now 28 years old, Francis is deciding how best to translate his success into opportunities for other students. He writes, “I have a vision to give back to the community in the same way S4Si did for me. I strongly believe that there are very many children with potential out there and they only need to be given the wings to fly.”
A woman in the developing world will reinvest 90% of her earnings into her family’s well-being, compared with 35% for a man.