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Published: February 22nd 2008
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Preparing for the Show
This is Miata and Sophia working on the script for the show they hosted. The Way Forward: Young women speak out about the importance of Education
By Nichole Huck Over the last five months we have explored a variety of human rights issues on our program Freedom Thursday. Many of the problems seem overwhelming - forced marriage, female head portering, child labour, streetism, unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions. No matter what the problem, it seems the solution always remains the same. Education is pointed to time and again as the way forward. And while it seems like a simple solution - the reality is there are many barriers preventing young women from accessing education and reaching their full potential. According to recent statistics from UNICEF less than 60 per cent of girls of primary school age in west and central Africa are enrolled in primary school and right now in Ghana there is an estimated 800 thousand children of primary school age not in school.
A recent edition of Freedom Thursday sought to shine a light on this problem. Two aspiring young journalists from Tamale served as the hosts of a special youth edition on education.
Here is an excerpt from the interview conducted by Sophia Kuyoli (a JSS 3 Student) and Miata Kuyitana (a class 5 student).
It’s not always easy for young people in the North to get an education. There are many challenges that we face. Rafia Sadik, a student of EP JSS in Tamale has joined us to talk about some of those challenges.
Which class are you? JSS 3 - it’s the second time in that class because I had already written the exam in 2007 but my parents didn’t have money to pay for school fees for the next class so I returned to my school to repeat the grade.
You are in school now - how did you manage to pay your fees? When we finished last year - I tried my best to go and work for somebody and go and get the money. And I know that my mother tries her best to give me the money to pay the school fees - but I need some help. If someone can help....
EDITOR’S NOTE: Rafia showed up at her old school in tears one day because she didn’t have enough money to continue her education. She was a dedicated and bright student so her teacher paid her school fees (out of his meagre salary) and allowed her to repeat the same grade. How do you get to school? I get to school by walking - and when I’m coming to school the distance from my house to the school is too long so I wake early in the morning. When I wake up around 6 o:clock and hurry hurry. I try and leave by 7. Around 8 I will be in the school.
Do you take breakfast before coming to school? No
How do you feel in the school? I feel sad because the times my friends are learning - me I’m sitting because I don’t have books to learn.
Are you given pocket money when coming to school? Yes 2,000 (20 cents) when coming to school. Is it enough for you? No it’s not enough.
How do you get reading materials? Sometimes I use my chop money. (Rafia tries to save some of the twenty cents she is given each day for food to buy school books).
What would you like to do when you finish school? I would like to become a nurse.
What would you like to say to parents? I would like to say to parents especially our fathers that they should take care of us. If they are not taking care of us this causing streetism - it causes teenage pregnancy, rape. I need to tell our parents they should educate us because we are the future leaders.
Our next guest can relate to the challenges that Rafia faces -
15 year old Zalia nearly became a street girl before she was helped by youth alive. What was your day to day life like before youth alive helped you pay for school?
In fact, I nearly became a street child. I used to sell poly bags in the market just to earn a living.
Why did they pick you to help? Youth Alive is an organization that helps street children, vulnerable, and those that don’t have. So when they saw that I was suffering my auntie sent me there and my background was investigated and they helped me.
How did you spend your days? I was a student -- I was in JSS 2. But I wanted to stop schooling because I thought education was just a waste of money. Because youth alive wasn’t there - learning materials and even money to buy food was a big problem for me. So I would have dropped out if youth alive wasn’t helping me.
What made you change your mind? Why do you think education is important now? I heard about some children from the North going down south to do Kayaya (head portering). I don’t want to become like them. So when youth alive came in and started paying my school fees and buying learning materials for me. I knew education was important so I just changed my mind.
Before youth alive helped you - how did you see your future to be? I didn’t know I had a future. At that time I thought I would just grow up and become somebody who is just doing any work - not the type of work you would be doing if you went to school.
Why is getting an education important to you? Education is very important to me because when I started schooling I began doing well- now people give me advice and encouragement.
What are your plans for the future? I want to become a medical doctor. And if I become a medical doctor the first thing I would do is start an NGO and I would sponsor street children like me.
Do you have a message for children who are struggling to go to school? They should never let any battle in life challenge them...they should work hard to overcome the challenge.
APPEAL TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY: After meeting Rafia and Zalia I can safely say they are two of the most motivated students I have ever encountered. They are bright young women who just happen to have been born into a very difficult situation. Rafia and her family all live in a tiny one room house. She walks hours each day to school even though she has no school books to use once she gets there. It broke my heart to hear them be interviewed about their difficulties in getting an education knowing that the next day they would still face the same challenges. I really want to set up a scholarship fund to ensure that these two girls will be able to continue their education. If any of you are interested in contributing please e-mail me for further information. Thanking you in advance! Nichole
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David Pain
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Youth Alive's website
You can learn more about Youth Alive's work by visiting their website www.youthaliveghana.org