A Real Life Story from The Field at CEFZ
In my 20 years of living in Zaznibar and my ten years of operating The Creative Education Foundation Zanzibar, I have learned way more than all of my formal education put together. In actual fact, I always say, my education didn't begin until I moved to Zanzibar.
We do home visits for every student. It's an important of assessing their eligibility for admission to CEFZ, and visits are important later, to monitor the family's well-being. One day, many years ago now, I visited the home of a then secnd grade student. The home was a four bedroom, unfinished bungalow. It did have a metal roof, was made of freeze brick, which was good, but it was shared by three families. That is a lot of people under one roof, and unfortunately, not an uncommon situation, as people living below the poverty line cannot afford much in rent, so they just rent a room, and each family sleep together.
The family I was visiting were outside; in their 'living room'. A child toddled about picking up various bits of plastic and garbage, looking for something of interest to play with, Mama was doing the washing in a basin on the ground, Big Sister was peeling cassava, Big Brother was tinkering with a pieces of an old engine on the porch beyond them all. There was no father, as he absconded long ago, unable to care for his growing family. After some warm greetings I began asking my usual questions about number of children, their education levels, income, who works/doesn't work, etc. (There is no unemployment/deserted wives/incapacity/childcare/etc benefit in Zanzibar, so I always am concerned about how people in need manage).
It turned out the toddler belonged to Big Sister, who got pregnant while in school. That was the end of her education, and she didn't have a job; had never had a job, not for lack of trying. She was 19 at the time and her child was three years old. (School girls who become pregnant in Zanzibar are expeleled from school, and unable to retun until they are married, when other priorities take over). Now here is the sad part; Big Brother was 21 years old. I asked him if he worked, and he said he had never worked. I asked when he left school, and he told me at age 14. When I asked why, he said he was expelled. "Why were you expelled?" I naively asked, assuming it was his fault. "I didn't go to school", he replied. "Why didn't you go to school?" (I am pretty sure I would have been all set with my preconceived idea back then of him wagging classes and getting up to no good). Instead he replied, "I was sick", he replied. "What with?", I asked.
It turned out, he had asthma. This boy was so sick as a child, he couldn't attend school. His mother couldn't afford to buy his inhalers. Not only did he suffer for years and years with illness, he was punished for it, by being expelled for missing school. Heart breaking. That was it. The end of his education. It wasn't much of an education, becasue he was in a local school, but it was a little bit of an education - enought to ensure basic literacy and numeracy. No questions. No help. No support. Over.
In actual fact, this boy was lovely. He could have been a lost cause, a victim of Zanzibar's rising problem with unemployed youth and drugs. He wasn't. He was home, trying to be the man of the family. He had random day work, but that is neither secure nor well paying. He was able to buy his medication and help his Mama with the family food bills. He had found the engine pieces he was working on for a small amount fo money, and instead of running around, he was home bettering himself by trying to explore how these parts worked worked.
In truth, I learned so mcuh that day. I learned of the desperation of the situation for many people to make a better life for themselves. The odds are stacked against them. The sponsor who enabled the student who attends our school, has not only enabled her future, but the hope of the whole family. She is bright and smart. She can communicate in English well, which gives her an advantage in her Secondary School education. She is doing well. Most of all, she will be employable becasue of her sponsorship opportunity. She will have a future. She will be able to carry her whole family, and make better chilces for them. She will have choices her mother didn't have. Her children can have good, safe and healthy futures.
This is the disrupter of generational pverty right there. Child sponsorship works.
Perhaps you know others who would like to join our small community of like-minded people changing life paths for the better - if so, please spread the word.
