Education Through Life’s Transitions
“Those who give up never succeed, and those who succeed never give up.” It’s a quote Stella, a SEGA (Secondary Education for Girls' Advancement) graduate, has carried with her for years. Through exams, uncertainty, and nights when she questioned whether she had made the right choice.
It is also the belief she hopes to one day teach her son.
Five years ago, Stella was 19 and newly admitted to advanced-level studies when she learned she was pregnant. She had dreamed of becoming a doctor. In that moment, she believed everything she had worked toward was gone.
“I thought everything was finished,” she said. Much to her surprise though, motherhood did not end her story. It reshaped it.
The Courage to Think Long-Term
Stella delivered her son in March 2021. She was young and still adjusting to life as a new mother, while carrying unfinished ambitions.
For many young women, that would have marked the end of their education. For Stella, it became the beginning of a different kind of courage.
Six months later, with the support of her mentors and family, Stella made the difficult decision to leave her son in the care of family and move two hours away to pursue a diploma in nursing. “He was still very young,” she said quietly. “And honestly, I used to cry a lot thinking about him while at school.”
This is the part of motherhood we rarely name. The part that weighs short-term closeness against long-term stability. The part that chooses discomfort today so a child can have security tomorrow.
There were moments she nearly gave up. During one exam period in 2022, her son was admitted to the ICU. Fear rushed in. Doubt followed.
“Why did I come to college and leave my son?” she remembers wondering. “He could even lose his life. Maybe I didn’t breastfeed him long enough, is that why he’s sick? Did I make a mistake?”
But she also knew something deeper.
“If I had not continued,” she reflected, “maybe I would be somewhere waiting for somebody to work and help me. Now I can take care of my child. I can support my family.”
Motherhood did not make her step back from her dreams. It instead made her fight for them differently.
The Power of Being Believed In
Stella’s resilience was real. But she does not tell her story as if she walked it alone.
When she first shared news of her pregnancy with her SEGA community, she expected judgment. What she received was guidance and support.
“They talked to me so much,” she said. “They told me not to give up.”
Eventually, Stella mustered up the courage to write a letter to SEGA asking to continue her education and she was supported through SEGA’s Continuing Education Program. In addition to educational support, she received counseling and was constantly reminded that one chapter does not erase the next.
Her determination mattered. But so did a system that did not quietly close the door.
Sometimes, the difference between stopping and continuing is whether someone believes your future is still worth investing in. At SEGA, that belief is not left to chance, it is built into how the school responds to life's unexpected challenges.
When Support Is a Design Choice
When asked what advice she would give to schools facing similar situations, Stella didn’t hesitate.
“Support them,” she said. “Don’t give up on them.”
She knows firsthand how quickly young mothers can feel written off, and how easily education can become a closed chapter for girls.
She also knows what’s possible when institutions choose a different response. Her story is not only about individual perseverance. It is about what becomes possible when schools design pathways that recognize reality rather than punish it.
Through SEGA’s Continuing Education Program, supported by Nurturing Minds, Stella was able to remain connected to education while navigating early motherhood, which created room for a new path forward.
That kind of design matters. Because resilience should not have to stand alone.
And when resilience is supported, it becomes momentum.
The Blessing of Both
In August 2024, Stella graduated with her diploma in nursing. In a photograph from that day, her son sits proudly on her lap. “I felt like I achieved everything I ever wanted,” she said. “My son was there, and when he said, ‘Congratulations, Mom,’ it melted my heart.”
Today, she works in the surgical department at DCMC Hospital in Tanzania. She prepares patients for operations. She helps them recover. She supports families through some of their most vulnerable moments, standing confidently in a profession that once felt far away.
Most importantly though, she is a mother who built stability where uncertainty once stood because her determination was met with support, and that made all the difference.
“Getting the support I received from SEGA and my family changed my life,” she said. “Their unwavering commitment and flexibility helped me through a challenge that continues to derail the lives of so many girls in my community. Thanks to them, now I can take care of my child. I can support my family.”
The Legacy of a Mother
Stella’s son is now in kindergarten. One day, she plans to tell him her story.
“I want him to learn from my experiences,” she said. “To understand the risks and consequences of the decisions we make during our teenage years, but to also keep pushing when he faces challenges.”
It’s the belief that carried her forward, and the one she hopes to pass on. “Those who give up never succeed, and those who succeed never give up.”
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This Mother’s Day, we celebrate mothers like Stella, who think years ahead, endure uncertainty, refuse to let one chapter define the rest of their story.
We also honor the families, schools, and communities that stand beside them, ensuring that motherhood does not mean the end of possibility, but the beginning of a different kind of future.
If this story moved you, consider honoring a mother or mentor in your life with a gift in her honor. Your support helps ensure that girls facing life’s most complex moments are met with guidance, flexibility, and a path forward.
Because when determination is met with support, futures expand for mothers, and for the children watching them rise.