We left Masaka and headed to another school with our top priority of the day, to check on one young girl who has been struggling. In recent months, we learned that her father passed away. Since that time she has struggled in school and her attendance has also been affected. In talking with her she was telling me that she gets headaches and stomach aches a lot. She said she has been to the doctor, but they find nothing wrong with her. I asked when these problems started and she mentioned that it was a few months ago (around the same time as the loss of her father).
In Rwanda children take national exams at the end of every "form" (3 years) At the end of the primary level (P6), the national exam determines what Division of school you are assigned. The school you go to depends on the how you perform.
This girl is at a good school. You must perform well to go here. So, we know she has the potential, I believe it is just the trauma from losing her father that is giving her such stress. Add to this that she is a boarding student (a very good thing) at this school and on days when she does not feel well, she goes to stay with her aunt. Her mother lives very far from the school and she only sees her mother a few times a year. Her mom is also sick. Her sister recently lost a sponsor for her education and had to go back home to mom. She was at a different school anyway, so they did not see each other often, but now she is missing them so much. In all this girl has 4 brothers and 3 sisters. All are living with relatives at different schools. The aunt would be happy to let her visit the mom, but there is no money for the transport to do so.
This girl is the most well-spoken child I met today. She was polite and kind and very open and transparent about her life and her hopes, her dreams, and her struggles. She loves to study the sciences ( biology, chemistry, and physics). She hopes to be a pilot somedayand she is in a dance troop that performs traditional dances at churches in the area. She also enjoys playing soccer with friends. Her teachers have said that she just needs to put forth a little more effort. They say that she seems tired in class.
I asked her about this and she told me that at night especially she lays and thinks about all the kind things her father used to tell her. She said that she was his favorite because she really respected her father and therefore they had a great relationship and at night she can almost hear him talking to her telling her nice things. So she doesn't sleep well and then in class, she struggles sometimes "in her mind" to focus on the lessons because she is still often thinking about her dad and missing her mom. She then continued to tell me more about her father and how he would dance with her and make her feel so special. Break. My. Heart.
We asked the headmaster if I could see the dorms where the girls sleep (I was really just super curious) and they said that was ok. So we walked across the campus. BTW...very nicely lanscaped and clean. There are 8 dorms for girls and 6 dorms for boys. This girls dorm held 52 girls. Just picture a long rectangular room with bunk beds all lined up with crates on the end. Looked very much like a military barracks. Here are some pics (yay...Uganda internet is a bit faster so I can get pics uploaded!)
The path leading to the girls dorm
This sweet girl's bed.
I aksed our partner at Nu-Vision ministry how much it would cost to send this girl home to visit her mom and it wasn't much so I left her money to go see her mom over the upcoming school break. Before I left I prayed over her that she would find peace, that her Heavenly father would give her mind and body rest. I pray that she will have more peace when she returns so she can do well and make her daddy proud, even if from heaven.
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