The struggle for education: Selina's story


Women often walk long distances, up to six miles in each direction, in search of water in the arid Pokot environment. Photo: Stephen Speakman/CWS
March 23, 2007


By Stephen Speakman, CWS Eastern Africa


Selina is a twenty-year-old woman living in West Pokot, Kenya. She also is one of three females in her community who completed high school this year. For Selina, graduating from high school is a major accomplishment. Not only has she successfully completed her academic work, but her journey has included overcoming a cultural attitude in West Pokot that does not value education for women.

When Selina was in upper primary school (equivalent to middle school in the U.S. system), her father wanted to marry her to an older man. Many men in the West Pokot community think of their daughters as a source of income for their household. When a man comes to the home intending to marry the girl, he will bring the father thirty or forty cows in exchange.

Despite her father’s intentions to give her away in marriage, Selina was resolute in her desire to receive an education. She, along with two other girls, decided that they did not want to be like other girls in their community who were married at an early age and who were not valued by the society. Instead, the girls committed themselves to completing high school.

"We told ourselves," says Selina, "'If we stay in the same condition as our mothers, what can we do for this community? It is better for us to finish Form 4 [the final year of high school] and help our community – help the community to be seen as one of people looking forward.'"

When asked how she managed to convince her father not to give her away in marriage, Selina recounts how she told her father that, no matter what he did to her, she would not marry.

"I told my father that there is time for everything. If you want those cows [that the man is offering for a dowry], I can bring you more than the number you want from this person [after I receive my education]. I told him that this person [whom he intends me to marry] will limit my life. If he is not educated, what benefit is there for me to be married to him?"

Realizing Selina's determination to receive an education, her father relented and sold a cow to allow Selina to attend at least her first year of high school.
Even after this first victory, Selina's journey to graduation was not easy. For many people living in Kenya, the prospect of receiving an education beyond Standard 8 (8th grade) is grim due to the cost of school fees. Although the government made reforms in 2002 that initiated free primary education for all Kenyans, secondary school fees remain an expense that many Kenyans, especially those people living in rural areas such as West Pokot, cannot easily afford.

Despite this difficulty, and despite her father's limited support, Selina would not be deterred. "Other girls, they hear what their parents say—that their home doesn’t have enough cows to allow their children to be educated," Selina notes. "But we [in our group] didn't see that as a problem that would hinder us from reaching Form 4. We said, 'If this is the problem that will hinder us from being educated, we can look for other ways to assist in our education.'"

For Selina, that assistance came through the financial support of other members of the community. To help Selina meet her school fees, her church conducted a fundraiser to create a base of financial support. She also received a government grant designed to assist capable students in needy communities. Selina is grateful for the way in which people in the community responded to her desire to receive an education. "For me who has received education, I have not been limited," she said. "The community gave to me; now I will give back."

If her test results are good, Selina plans to attend college so that she can do just that—give back to her community. She did not hesitate when asked her dreams for the future—she wants to become either a teacher or a nurse. Whatever she becomes, she intends to return to her community to show them the power of education to improve their lives.

"We always told people in the community that, if God wills, you will see what we can bring to you as educated people," she says. "If I qualify as a teacher, I will come to this place and teach. I will talk about the problems that I passed to get this education, and I will tell girls the benefit of education. If I become a nurse, I will combat malaria. I will tell my people how to prevent it. Most of the people here don't know, but me, a girl who is from this place, will come and teach them, tell them in my own language."

Selina has a younger sister who is in Standard 6 (6th grade). Selina says that she is ready to fight for her sister’s education. "I told my sister, 'If our father told you anything that would lead you to forget about your education, listen to me instead.'" And what is her message?

"Education is very important. Without education, there is no life."
In West Pokot, Kenya, CWS partner Yang'at has completed phase one of a project designed to provide assistance to the women and children, like Selina, who often are marginalized. Since women and children spend much of their time during the day fetching water in the arid Pokot environment, Yang'at's project is designed to use the vital issue of water access as an entry point for still further development.
Through the construction of sand dams, Yang'at has reduced the amount of time and the amount of effort women and children must use in fetching water for their households. With the "extra time" during the day, children are able to attend school and women, with skills training from Yang'at, are able to begin smallscale income generating activities.

Yang'at also is actively involved in challenging the local perceptions that hinder women's development. Through sensitization meetings and workshops, Yang’at highlights how traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and early marriage hinder a girl's ability to reach her full potential.

For more information about Yang'at and the work they are carrying out in West Pokot, please read "Kenya: Pokot women challenge local perceptions"

http://churchworldservice.org/news/archives/2007/03/653.html

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net