Tayo Azmat

Dear Honorable Decision-Makers, I am writing to you not as a statistic or a budget line, but as a mother—one doing everything within her power to give her children a future better than the one circumstances tried to limit. I am a single mother of two, and I am a low-income earner. For many years, survival meant sacrifice in its rawest form. During my children’s childcare and kindergarten years, nearly every dollar I earned went toward childcare and housing. There was nothing left over. We relied on the Salvation Army and other community organizations for clothes, shoes, and sometimes even food. I stood in lines not because I lacked the will to work, but because despite working, I still could not afford the basics. Yet even in those hardest moments, I held tightly to one belief: my children deserved a high-quality education. I believed—and still believe—that education is the surest path out of poverty. So I made a choice that many would consider impossible. I chose to prioritize my children’s education, even if it meant continuing to live without new clothes, without financial comfort, and without security. I was prepared to keep relying on donated clothing and food if that was the price of giving my children a strong academic foundation. The NH Scholarship changed everything. That scholarship did not just pay tuition—it gave my family stability. It lifted us from living hand-to-mouth. It allowed my children to attend a private school where they are thriving academically, emotionally, and socially. It gave them consistency, confidence, and hope. For the first time, I was not choosing between rent and food, or shoes and school fees. The scholarship allowed me to breathe. Without the NH Scholarship, there is simply no path forward for us. There is no hidden income. No backup plan. No way I could ever afford private school tuition on my own. If this scholarship is cancelled, my children will be forced out of the only educational environment they have known and where they are succeeding. The disruption alone would be devastating—academically and emotionally. They would lose teachers who know them, classmates who support them, and a structure that has helped them grow into confident learners. For me, the impact would be just as severe. I would once again face impossible choices: education versus food, tuition versus housing. We would likely return to full dependence on community welfare—the very situation this scholarship helped us escape. This scholarship did not create dependency; it prevented it. Please understand: I am not asking for luxury. I am asking for opportunity. I am asking for the chance to continue giving my children what every child deserves—a stable, high-quality education and the hope of a better future. Cancelling the NH Scholarship would not just remove funding. It would remove stability, progress, and hope from families like mine who are doing everything right, yet still need support. I respectfully and humbly ask you to reconsider. Please do not take away the one lifeline that has allowed my children to rise above circumstances beyond their control. Thank you for listening to my story and for considering the real lives behind this decision. With deepest respect, A Grateful and Hopeful Mother