Happy Lucia attends grade one at 13 for the first time
By Antonio Massipa
Lucia is 13-year-old and lives in Monapo district, in the North of Mozambique. She beat the stigma and gained courage to go to school for the first time in her life after joining the girls club promoted by Every Girl Can (EGC) project.
Lucia, an orphan, was obliged to live with her older brother, Benedito, after the death of their parents. Unfortunately, her brother could not afford to pay for her education, resulting in her being unable to attend school.
She grew up without being able to attend school. However, the table turned when EGC project started in Monapo and she was recruited to join the girls club.
It should be noted that girls’ clubs are spaces where girls and adolescents who do not attend school get the chance to learn about many topics and develop life skills, including communication, rights and sexual reproductive health, and economic empowerment.
Lucia joined the girls’ club and started learning. “As I learned, I realised that I needed to go to school, because I couldn’t grasp some of the things our mentors talked about and an older girl from the group told me that if I had once been to school like she had then it would be easier for me to understand things,” Lucia says.
This is how a strong desire to go school was born. Lucia was determined that she had to attend school.
“First, I spoke with my older brother, Benedito, who said he couldn’t afford to have me enrolled and going to school. Then, I spoke with my girls club mentor and told her I really needed to go to school,” explains the young girls.
“She talked with my brother and he told her the same thing he told me – ‘I can’t afford to pay for her education’. But she kept going to our home to talk to him about this. He eventually accepted and promised to find a way for Lucia to attend school,” she adds.
Insisted conversations with Benedito paid off. He decided he was definitely going to find a way to pay for Lucia’s education in the following year.
In fact, Benedito did find a way. “Apart from working on the farm, my brother started fishing and selling fish. With part of the money he earned, he bought me school material and enrolled me in school this year. Now I go to school and I’m learning the alphabet,” she says.
“I am very happy for being able to attend school for the first time in my life. My brother’s love and support make going to school even more satisfying and enjoyable,” Lucia adds.
EGC project is funded by Canada and implemented by a consortium led by World Vision in Monapo, Murrupula and Nacaroa. The consortium includes HOPEM (Rede Homens pela Mudança – Men for Change Network) and ActionAid.