Mercy has been out of school for months now, it started when her mom fell Ill and she had to become her care giver, since the family could not afford to send mama to the hospital. Though they were just 6 children dad kept mentioning what a Hassle it was to pay fees for all six of them from his measly income, saying it left barely enough for restocking or sufficient feeding.
Mercy having to stop school was a blessing in disguise according to her dad, but Mercy didn’t share his sentiments, she missed school, her classmates, and selfless teachers that ensured they went home daily with new information after every class especially the agricultural lessons, that taught her how to care for the crops she was cultivating at the backyard which served as a source of meal for the family from time to time.
Education is the basis for all growth, and it is a fundamental right for every child, every child should have an opportunity to learn from beginner stage till he achieves a status that he can be self taught.
Most families share similar tales to Mercy where some if not all the children will have to stop school as their caretakers can’t provide the basics such as school fees, books, sandals and uniforms. This leaves their formative years void of actual learning and development especially character wise, hence what ever they learn it is by listening to the adults in the community, mimicking their words and actions. This type of learning isn’t controlled, and since it spans across different places and events, it could take a bad turn and these kids learn more of bad habits and the character becomes ingrained in them. That is why it is adviced to catch them young, so their minds can be molded into beautiful personalities.
Ways you can help these struggling families and communities.
Distribute school essentials to the children of the community.
Visit schools and donate books to the library, so less privileged kids can have access to all manner of educative books.
Hold seminers, to instruct parents on the importance of education for the future.
Get volunteers to pick days or periods for impacting free education in the community.
Raise funds with like minded people to offer scholarship to exceptional kids.
In little ways we can combat the scourge of lack of education and build a future where education is no longer such an unattainable feat for children in rural areas.