Giving back to those that have given and being of service
29/09/2008
At 27, Borges Cerveja might have the following as his life's motto "Giving back to those that have given and being of service." This young man is keen to use his talents to help those who have helped him as well as those less fortunate than himself.
Borges was brought up in the SOS Children's Village Tete. He keeps in touch with his SOS family, most especially Claudio who is now 25. Borges lives in a small flat on his own. The flat is kept neat and clean - Borges is very house proud. He finds living alone a little lonely, but, with all the studying that he does, the feeling soon passes.
Always studious, Borges originally wanted to study medicine. However, when his exam results came out, the grades were not high enough for medicine, but he was offered a place on the biology course at the Eduard Mondlane University in Maputo, which he accepted.
Borges had already moved from Tete to Maputo for his secondary schooling, so by the time he was accepted for University in Maputo, he was settled in his own place and was used to living independently from SOS Children. The course is five years long and Borges has almost completed the course and he is now busy writing his final project.
Work and play
However, that is not all that keeps Borges busy. Eventually, he would like to combine his knowledge of biology; specifically human health in which he has specialised, with teaching. He has already started doing this by helping to teach biology to students at the SOS school Maputo.
"I'd like to maintain my contact with SOS Children's Villages", states Borges and by teaching at the school, he feels that he is assisting the students as well as keeping in touch with his extended family. "I like to help people - especially those who have helped me".
But it is not all work and no play for Borges. "I love to play football and talk with my friends. Helping the younger children with their homework is quite fun, too!" Suddenly, Borges looks to the ground and does not seem quite as confident as before.
He looks up again. "My favourite thing is to go for a walk with my girlfriend at the weekend," he says bashfully. "We've been going out together for two years and I'd really like to marry her!"
Relevant Countries: Mozambique.