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Women’s Global provides scholarships through our Sisters to School program in Senegal and Kenya to help girls who otherwise would not be able to go to school. Women's Global is very proud of all of our scholars, for their hard work and dedication, and for their continued academic success!Here, a few of them share their stories: Christine Diouf
Christine
Diouf, age 9, is from a village called Santhie Berra, about seven
kilometers from the nearest town, Sokone. Christine’s mother is
a cook and her father raises animals. She has three brothers and one sister.
Her brothers go to school, but her sister doesn't, and Christine is happy that she has a chance for an education. During the school year, Christine stays with her aunt and grandmother in Sokone in order to be closer to her school. Christine’s ambition is to finish high school, and then become a schoolmistress. “If I couldn't go to school I'd probably raise animals,’ she says. “School is important, so I make sure I work well.” She likes all her subjects but her favorite thing about school is “the friends.”
“My
name is Fatou Sarr, and I am 12 years old. Life for my family has been
difficult, especially for my parents to make a living. My father is a
fisherman but he does not have a boat. My mother is often away
traveling to a nearby town to sell fish, but sometimes my father is not
able to have any fish to give to my mother to sell, and it is hard for them to make ends meet and provide for our family. Before receiving my
scholarship, it was hard for me to go to school because my family lives
far from the school, so I had to get up very early and walk four
kilometers to get there. They also didn’t have the money to buy my
materials for school, and I often did not have all the
supplies. Now that I have this scholarship, I can board with a family closer to the school so I don’t have to walk the four kilometers each way. My fees and supplies are taken care of, and I also get after-school tutoring, which is really helping me in my studies. I really like my teacher and my after-school tutor. I am very strong in math because of the after-school tutoring. It is my favorite subject because I am good at it! When I finish school, I want to become a nurse. My dream is to be able to help my family buy things and have a better life.” Aminata Gueye
Several of our scholars come from families where the parents are illiterate and older siblings dropped out of school early to work or get married. Our scholars often are the first in their family to receive a solid education. One such scholar is 7-year-old Aminata Gueye. She lives with her parents, neither of whom have any formal education. She has four older brothers who only went to Koranic school and an older sister who had no schooling at all and is already widowed with a baby. Aminata was the first in the family to receive a formal education, and now her younger brother is following in her footsteps. “I have some friends who don’t go to school, and they will probably become domestic workers,” Aminata says. “I’m happy I can go to school, because if I couldn’t, I would be doing domestic work also. Thank you helping me!” Khady Biyaye
Khady (pictured middle, with her parents) is the first in her family to get an education. Neither of her parents went to school, and after watching their other children struggle to make a living without any schooling, they were happy that Khady was given this opportunity. Khady is so dedicated to getting her education that she used to cross the river every day and walk two miles along a dirt path to get to the nearest school. Some days, the river water was so high that it would reach up to her thighs! Thankfully, a school recently opened right in her village of Limane, so she can now go to school closer to home. “Because she is in school, we think Khady will have a better chance at a good life,” Khady’s father tells Women’s Global. “We are so happy with this program and thank everyone for supporting Khady!” Mary Muthoni Mauki “My name is Mary Muthoni Mauki, and I am 17 years old. My parents are peasant farmers and therefore your sponsorship has helped them very much in paying my school fees. We were very delighted to be included in this program, and I am working very hard to pursue my goals. I take eight subjects as per the Kenya examinations council: mathematics, English, Kiswahili, religion studies, biology, chemistry, geography, and computer studies. Geography and computer studies are my favorite subjects, and I hope to pursue both. Thank you so much for supporting me. Being able to go to school helps me to brighten my future. I will work hard not to let you down!” Cecilia Majau “My name is Cecilia Majau. I am 17 years old and go to Mukothima Girls Secondary School and am in the 7th grade. My parents are peasant farmers. I have three sisters and five brothers, but none of them is employed because they don’t have enough education. I
wanted to have a different life and have been praying for a sponsor who
will help my parents to pay my school fees. It’s very fortunate that
this program found me! How happy am I? I
cannot really express my happiness! It’s very wonderful that through
this sponsorship I am able to pay for school fees, books, and personal
effects. I am studying hard in order to achieve my life goals of
becoming a nurse. I believe that educating is the foundation of life. I have decided to work hard so that I will achieve my goals, become an important person in the world and raise the living standard of my parents. I also hope to help needy children who are unable to carry on with their education.” Kibaara Charity Kathambi “My name is Kibaara Charity Kathambi. I am 15 years old, and am very happy to be going to secondary school. I would not be in school were it not for this program. My two elder sisters did not even complete primary education because they were circumcised and got married immediately thereafter. I refused to be circumcised like them, because I want to study and go all the way up to university level and become someone special in our area. I am thankful my parents did not force me to be circumcised like the others. Now they no longer support the act, and I thank God very much for changing their minds. I
am the first girl in my family to finish primary education and join
secondary school. I am very happy because of your help, especially
because I never expected I would get a chance to go to secondary
school. God bless you!” Emma Kawira “My name is Emma Kawira, and I am 15 years old. I completed primary school and passed the end-of-the-year grade level exams, but then my mother told me that we would not be able to afford to send me on to secondary school because we didn’t have enough money to pay the school fees. I went to my uncles, the brothers of my deceased father, for help, but they could not help me either, because they also had no money. My mother thought and thought about this problem, and decided that by selling two of our three goats, she might be able to get enough to pay my school fees. She sold them, but it was still not enough. Thankfully, word came about this program. We went to fill out the application forms right away. When I found out that I had been accepted as a scholar, I thanked God for this sponsorship, because that meant I could continue my education!”
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