Keeping Kids, Especially Girls, in School

Nathalie Fauveau - Posted on September 24, 2010

In 1995, the Senegalese government launched the SCOFI, an organization to promote the schooling of girls. This is an issue which is close to World Vision’s heart here in Senegal where many girls drop out of school because their parents can’t afford to continue sending them to school or need their help at home.

Madeleine, a fifth-grade sponsored child, has a wonderful teacher. Her name is Fatou. Fatou has been teaching Madeleine since she was in first grade at the primary school she attends in Tattaguine.

Fatou, is the President of the local SCOFI branch. She knows World Vision quite well, “we often work with World Vision because they help children get an education and stay healthy. A few weeks ago, we organized a celebration with the different communities to promote girl schooling in our region. World Vision financed the celebration. You see, girls here have a lot of trouble studying. Most of the time, their parents want to send them to Dakar, the capital, to become maids so that they can help support their families financially. We try to encourage the families to keep their daughters in school.”

During the celebration, Madeleine recited a poem in front of all the community members. It was entitled “Pleurs d’une enfant” (A Little Girl’s Cries) and it dealt with the early marriage and school drop-out phenomena in Senegal. “Father, why do you give me away, please let me stay in school so that I can learn,” it said.

Madeleine, who has two brothers and five sisters, says: “I love going to school. I think I want to become a teacher.” Her teacher tells us, “Madeleine is an excellent student, she recently placed first in the regional competition.” Madeleine won 2000 francs ($ 4) at the competition, which is a big deal for a child in Tattaguine. She gave all her earnings to her parents.

Working with the communities, and educating them about the subject is extremely important. Poverty forces girls to find early income sources and only if they have their parents’ and community’s support will they be able to stay at school. “When I come home from school, my father sits down with me and helps me do my homework. But he and my mom have to work a lot so that we can go to school,” says Madeleine.

“Our hope is to see every girl get the encouragement and help from her parents that Madeleine does. As a teacher, I try to follow-up on my students and speak with their parents, but I have 32 girls and 21 boys in my class, it is too many!” says Fatou.

Fatou knows that, as school starts again this month, there will be several girls missing. Their parents will have sent them to Dakar to work for the summer and either they will stay there and not come back, or they might come back pregnant, which means they won’t enroll at school. As the teachers spend the next few weeks preparing for classes, let’s pray for the girls who attend school in the Tattaguine region. In his mercy, God can open the doors for them to stay at school.

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