Testimonials

These are stories of young girls who lives have been affected in a positive way by FAWE.

Aminata

“I was only 15 when my parents announced the news of my impending marriage with one of my cousins. I was desperate and did not want to get married this early as my friends were still going to school and having fun. I was really traumatized by the idea of having a husband who would decide everything for me” , said Aminata Traore, a 16 year old girl from a FAWE center of excellence, at Linsan, near Kindia, Conakry Guinea.

Many girls in this West African country, just like this young girl, are being forced to marry at a very tender age for various reasons: some parents do so out of ignorance, not knowing the consequences; some are very attached to their cultural practices; others just want to get rid of another mouth to feed and gain little money from the dowry; and others are driven by fear of having their daughters impregnated. This girl lives in a city located at an intersection along one of the main roads of the country.

In the city of Linsan located 5 hours drive from the capital Conakry, school enrollment is at around 23% as opposed to 77% at the national level. The city of Linsan is known to be a risky place for girls, and for good reasons: the village is located along the country’s main road, where there is a famous intersection that has become a popular meeting place for drivers to stop by and eat, rest, and often find a young girl for a few hours of sex before returning to the road.

As a result, HIV prevalence is high and parents with girls prefer to marry them early (13-15 years) to avoid them waiting on the streets for travelers. Amanita’s parents are a case example. They did not understand the importance of her going to school and so had opted to marry her to a cousin to avoid her getting pregnant or contracting a disease.

“When I heard the news of the opening of a school in this village, I just ran away and came to my aunt who lives here. I asked her to let me stay with her so that I could go to the FAWE center of excellence school nearby. I promised to do all the household chores in the morning before hitting the road for almost an hour’s walk to school. She accepted and let my parents know that I was staying with her. This is my second year here and I am very happy to be attending school, despite the fact that sometimes, things get a bit difficult, especially for us girls, because the toilets are still not finished and the water drill does not have water”.

Caroline

“I was lucky enough to have been born in a family with a mother who knew the importance of education. Beside the fact that we were very poor, she insisted that my father took us all nine girls to school. After my father’s death, everyone in the village told my mother that she should get us married because she could not afford paying for our school fees anymore. All hope vanished. I was desperate because I wanted to pursue my studies. Then I met with FAWE.” Says 4th year law student at Makerere University, Caroline Kanyago Kalogala.

Jackie

“I am from a family of six, with struggling parents who could hardly make ends meet; even feeding the family was a challenge for our parents. When my father lost his job, the situation became even worse because my mother could not pay for our school fees any longer. I was really desperate when my father came home one day with a newspaper talking about FAWEU helping disadvantaged girls who wanted to study. I thought it was a miracle!” Says Jackie Kaija, a brilliant young lady who teaches mathematics and physics at Makerere University in Kampala.

Doreen

“My mother was sick and could no longer do much farm work to support us. I went to stay with my aunt who was also poor and could not pay for my school fees. I thought it was the end of the story for me as far as going to school. I was desperate and did not know who to turn to anymore.” says Doreen Muhumure, now a law student who became a FAWEU beneficiary at the right moment in her life.

“My name is Hilda Thropao and I am a lawyer at the State Attorney Ministry, here in Kampala. I am one of many teenage girls in Africa who made the wrong decision of getting pregnant too early in my life. I first met with FAWEU when I was a very brilliant girl who had gotten a scholarship to attend one of the best high schools in Uganda. Then, I got pregnant. I was in grade 4 and I had to drop out of school. I lost the scholarship and my parents could not afford to pay for my school fees. I was desperate. I thought of the brilliant future I had spoilt because I did not know how to better prevent a pregnancy. My life was over. Like a miracle, FAWE was following up on me and discovered that I was sinking in desperation. They took it from there and guided me until I finished my first law degree! Now, I try to help younger girls to avoid making the same mistakes I did. I hope to go for a Master’s degree in Law very soon. I thank God and I thank FAWE and the donors who make it possible for many Ugandan girls to stay in school and succeed”.

All these girls shared one commonality: they had lost hope. They were brilliant but they had financial and social constraints that could not permit them or their families to finance their schooling. Then, they brought to FAWE, and there was hope again. FAWE could not give back hope to these girls alone. The role of FAWE is to help them get back on track and help them find solutions to fulfil their educational aspirations. Bursaries are only one aspect of this support.

FAWE also provides psycho-social support to girls in difficulty. It empowers them, advocates for their education, supports them through their schooling. Thanks to the many partners and individual donors, FAWEU was able to help 2389 girls and 50 boys for the past two years.

Still despite FAWE’s work and the help of many donors like the governments of the Netherlands , Norway, Denmark, Finland, Cananda, Ireland, UN agencies such as UNICEF and UNESCO, and a host of private donors, alot remains to be done to achieve gender parity and equality in education in Africa.