Day Eight

I spent the day at the secondary school today and had the opportunity to meet a young girl that had come to the school with her mother and aunt to see if there was a way that she may be able to afford the private education that St. Catherine's had to offer. The girl was an only child and the mother seemed determined to provide her with the education she would need to be successful. The mother is at the right of the photo crocheting a handbag out of plastic shopping bags and plastic table cloths. The nonprofit organization provides these materials to women then assist them in selling the completed product.

In Kenya if a child can not pass a government mandated exam after completing the eighth grade they are asked to leave school. If they pass the test they are allowed to continue but at the end of their secondary education they are issued a second test, if they fail that test they are not allowed to continue in any government universities. Kenya does not have remedial education for students who fall behind or for facilities that are unable to educate its students to a level of proficiency.

The girls mother stated that, 'everything in our world changes if she gets an education' and I could not help but feel the weight of responsibility this girl must bear. She knows that with an education she will be able to greatly improve not only her mother and aunts lives, but also her future husband, and childrens. It is moments as these when I began to understand the importance of my college diploma.