Orphan turns tragedy into victory

Dar es Salaam. Many children despair when they are orphaned, but Lucylight Mallya (below) turned the pain of losing her parents into a driving force to study harder. Her efforts paid off: she was the only female in the top five in science subjects in the Form Six exams announced at the weekend. She also led the list of top five female students in the same subjects.

Lucylight, who took Physics, Chemistry and Biology, scored division one point six with C in physics, A in Chemistry and B in Biology. Her father died in 2006 and her mother a year later when she was 14.

Lucylight, who was at Marian Girls Secondary School, said losing her both parents inspired her to study harder. She explained: “Being the first born, I realised I would face big responsibilities in the future and I had no choice but to ensure I succeeded.” She has three siblings, all boys living with their uncle and his family in Dar es Salaam. Two are in secondary school and one in primary school.

She credits her teachers with her success, saying their efforts and encouragement contributed to her achievement. “I took these subjects intending to become a medical doctor in future,” she said.

The four other best students in science subjects were Erasmi Inyanse from Ilboru High School (PCM), Maige Majuto of Kisimiri High School (PCM), Gasper Mung’ong’o of Feza Boys High School (PCB) and Gasper Setus of St James Seminary (PCM). Few girls opt for the sciences. When they do, they do not perform as well as boys in the examinations. Lucylight’s love of science was inspired by her teachers and her uncle, who encouraged her to aim to be a medical doctor. “I used to love commerce when I was at ordinary level but after my teachers discovered my talent, they advised me to concentrate on science.”

She created a timetable for studying in school but found that she could not work for long in the evening. “I could not study all night,” she added, “but I could do so all day during weekends.”

Science subjects that require intensive practicals were a challenge since most of the teaching in the country is theory-based.

Her guardian and uncle, Mr Dominic Mallya, said the girl is driven by an awareness of her responsibilities.

“I also followed up her development in school,” he said. “In collaboration with her teachers, we worked at encouraging her to do better whenever her performance appeared to be dropping in exams and encouraged her to do better. With her talent, I advised her to study medicine so the nation could benefit from her skills.”

Lucylight was among the Top 10 best students in her Form Four examinations in 2011, also at Marian. Girls captured eight of the Top Ten positions that year and she scored grade A in all subjects except Kiswahili, where she had B. Others on the list of best students are: Maria-Dorin Shayo (Marian Girls), Sherryen Mutoka (Barbro-Johansson), Diana Matabwa, Neema Kafwimi and Beatrice Issara (St Francis Girls) Johnston Dedani (Ilboru), Samwel Emanuel (Moshi Technical) Bertha Sanga (Marian Girls), and Bernadetha Kaluvya (St Francis Girls).