Where did all my sparkles go?

Today, I was looking through Rabiat's Impact Report and I became so heartbroken.?

I met Rabiat in 2018 in the Ota community of Ogun State. She was 13 years old, but she could not communicate in English at all. Just Hausa.?

Rabiat started attending our Saturday lessons when we started Talent Mine Academy in 2019. She attended without fail.

After one year of consistent attendance and growth, we finally found her a sponsor who was ready to fund her tuition in a private school for 12 years.?

We were happy to give her a chance, so we paid her full tuition and she resumed.?

Whenever we take a child to a private school for the first time, there is this look that they have on their face.

Their eyes radiating with excitement and their feets hopping around with bright smiles on their faces.

The combination of these expressions clearly portrays the hope and possibilities that is just about to open up for them.?

On her first day at school, Rabiat entered her classroom and was excited to learn in a more formal learning environment.?

In her first term, she came back with a 52% result, which was okay for the level she was at. I kept encouraging her and her result kept improving steadily.

She started communicating in English, even though not fluent at the time. Her progress was so good to see.

Within a year, Rabiat moved from a 52% result to a 67.5% result.

For someone who was 14 years old in a primary 3 class, this was good progress, and we were so proud of her.

Even though she was way older than the other kids in her class, she was eager to learn and did not see her age as a barrier.

Every week, we had a check-in time to monitor her progress at school.?

At each check-in time, I would see that same sparkle of possibilities in her eyes, as I did on her first day at school.?

But in our check-in one Saturday, I missed that sparkle.

It was not there anymore. How's school? "It's fine".

I thought, "maybe she was not in the mood today".?

But next Saturday, I didn't find it. And the next and the next...

I kept wondering, "what's happening?"?

So I asked her, "is there something happening in school?" On the first day, she said "nothing".?

Then I probed further and kept investigating to know what had suddenly changed.

This was when I discovered that the other kids in her class called her Aunty Rabiat because the teacher asked them to call her that.?

It was at this point that everything started to go wrong. Her morale and interest in school started to drop.

I get that the teacher was trying to teach the younger kids respect, but to Rabiat, it was not respect. It was mockery.?

There was this sudden pressure put on her.?

She started hearing,

"Abi they are paying your school fees, instead of you to take advantage of it and understand this work fast fast."?

"You are 14 now, you should even be able to understand this faster than these smaller children. You should even be the one teaching them by now"

All these words put her in a box and make her feel exclusive.?It made her feel like she is too old to learn in a classroom.?

These words emphasised how old she is and how her age might be a barrier to her education.?

These words killed her eagerness to learn and made the bright sparkles in her eyes fade away.?

A school environment should not be the place where a child feels this way.?

A school environment must be safe, supportive and inclusive of every child irrespective of age, socio-economic background and other factors.

Because when a child comes to school and he/she is ready to learn, they do not see these factors as a hindrance until they are told so.?

Rabiat could not cope anymore with the pressure from school, so she dropped out.?

I tried different strategies to get her back in but none worked. Mentorship, 1:1 sessions, showing her success stories of others. Nothing worked.?

Till now, Rabiat is still at home and that eagerness to learn is gone.

Our next option is to enrol her in a fashion school while carefully designing an informal learning opportunity for her. So, she can at least get the basic numeracy, literacy and comprehension skills.?

No child from a low-income community deserves to feel unsafe in school just because of their age or background.

This is why we want to start a school in the Ota community of Ogun state.?

One that will provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for children in low-income communities to access quality education and thrive.?

We have got a leased property for this school, but we need your support to make it a conducive learning space for our kids.?

We have set up a fundraiser, so you can donate via this link - bit.ly/tmaschool or directly to our account details below:?

1023986519 (UBA Bank) 
Talent Mine Foundation
        

Every amount counts and every support goes a long way.?

Please donate here - bit.ly/tmaschool, and share this article with everyone in your network.

Thank you.