“Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor” Nelson Mandela
Imagine you’re a young girl growing up in rural Uganda. The sun has just risen. You kiss your mother goodbye and head off for your first day of school. You start the long walk that you hope will lead to a better future for you and your family. Though you might not realize it, you’re one of the lucky ones. Across the African continent, more than 42 million children lack access to any education. Over 70% of these children are girls like you.
You are grateful for the opportunity your family provides. You work hard in school, but you know there are several obstacles you must overcome to qualify for secondary school. Your family survives on less than a dollar a day. Your brother will soon be old enough to start first grade. If there isn’t enough money for both of you to go to school, your parents will send your brother instead of you. Even if you are allowed to continue your education, there is already talk of finding a husband for you. Your mother married at thirteen, and the same fate might be in store for you. Many girls in your village, aged twelve or thirteen, whose parents have forbidden them from attending school, are already pregnant.
Your education gives you a sense of self-worth and the courage to resist threats of sexual coercion. In addition to your core classes, you also attend health education sessions. You learn about reproductive health and the importance of good sanitation in preventing and spreading HIV and AIDS. As a result, infection rates among your classmates are significantly lower than in the rest of your village. You start sharing this knowledge with your family, friends, and anyone willing to listen. You dream of becoming a nurse or perhaps even a doctor for the first time.
There are other challenges. Not long after you reach puberty, your mother runs out of money to buy sanitary napkins. You can’t go outside because others will humiliate you, and you feel hurt. Only a few pieces of absorbent paper prevent you from missing school. A few days later, your teacher visits your family and gives you enough sanitary pads to return to class the next day.
Your success inspires your mother to find ways to earn enough money to send your sisters to school as well. She joins a local savings group and uses the five-dollar loan it provides her to travel to a distant market and sell her crops for a few extra dollars.
Soon, your walk to school is joined by your siblings and more children from your village who want to follow in your footsteps.
Inspired by your vision of becoming a doctor, you pass your exams with “flying colors.” You were the first in your family to enter primary school; now you are the only one in secondary school. Suddenly, a few short years ago, what seemed like an impossible dream became an unstoppable reality.
All across Uganda today, thousands of young girls are beginning their school careers full of potential and hope. With your support, the Teach Them To Fish Foundation will help some of these children fulfill that potential. The need for funds is so acute that even a tiny donation can positively affect the lives of hundreds of girls and, through them, the lives of numerous families and their communities.
“Educating girls yields a higher rate of return than any other investment in the developing world.” L. Summers, Ex-Chief Economist World Bank.
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