THE ONE WHERE EDUCATION IS THE KEY
From the time I was 14 years old, my paternal grandmother started convincing me to get married. According to her, if girls went to school, they would become bigheaded and very hard to manage. She has instilled this belief in all my paternal aunties and they stopped schooling at Primary Seven, had suitors organized for them, bride price paid, give away ceremonies performed and off they went to live with their husbands.
I remember when the last of my aunties got married, she had just sat her Primary Leaving Exams and while waiting for results, my grandmother brought to her attention a young man who was training to be a catechist. They finalized the plans in a hurry, a ceremony was organized and off she went. I was privileged to be one of the bridesmaids during her function. We also composed sad songs as abaana bekika-children of the home to bid her farewell and the mood at the function was somber. I was on a virtual soprano microphone, my brother Talent was on alto while my other brother Treasure was on bass. My sister was breastfeeding while my youngest brother had not been planned for. Forget the modern culture where brides come out of the house dancing; in my days it was sorrow- the tangible one. A bride had to keep her head down and at the end, be dragged out of the house kicking and screaming by her husband’s family.
I was extremely privileged that by the time my mum got married to my dad, she had gone through school and she was a qualified primary school teacher, and I will tell you why- Not only did I have a role model as far as education is concerned but she supported me and my siblings since she understood the value of education. In fact, the day she learnt that my grandmother was trying to convince me to get married, she politely asked her not to have such a conversation with me again. Most of my paternal cousins were not so lucky. My grandmother, having successfully convinced most of my uncles to drop out of school and give her grandchildren successfully hooked them up with uneducated wives. And because neither party understood the value of education, most of my cousins dropped out of school, got married at a very young age and are grappling with extreme poverty.
Where I go to church, at Worship Harvest, we are always taught and encouraged to honor our parents and support our extended families — Those are some of the things that put a smile on God’s face. I have already started supporting some of my cousins financially for education and other needs. Education is one of the keys that will kick poverty out of Africa. You can start by pooling money with your siblings and support any cousins/ friends that might be in need of school fees.
It’s not too late to start.