Mary & Sarah continued...

I will catch you up on Mary and Sarah, in case you're jumping into this blog for the first time...

Every week, a seamstress, Miss Jane, comes to our hostel at the University. She is one of the Ghanaians that I will always remember. Her laughter and her sweet spirit are contagious upon meeting her. She comes to the hostel a couple times a week, making a living by designing African attire for us international students (dresses: $8, tops: $4, pants: $6). She has a husband and takes care of her 5 children, 2 nieces, cousin Joanna, and her worker. She and her family live in a tiny, two-bedroom house. She has plenty of mouths to feed, but she does it all with a smile and a heart of thankfulness.

A little 12-year-old girl, named Mary, always accompanies her on her trips to the hostel (Mary is her niece). After getting to know Miss Jane and after spending time with a very shy Mary, I discovered that Mary did not go to school. I couldn't believe it. For almost every child in America, school is a "given". It is mandated by the law, funded by our government, and just expected; it is the norm in our society.

Here in Ghana, however, it is unlike anything I have EVER seen or experienced. At first, I could not wrap my mind around it. WHY can't ALL of the children in GHANA, of all countries (it is, after all, one of the most developed, stable, wealthy countries of the entire African continent), get the opportunity to go to school? "WHY, WHY, WHY?"--I challenged myself over and over, trying to come up with an answer. Now, I am beginning to understand why...

(As a side-note:) When we went to Miss Jane's house for lunch one Sunday, a few weeks back, we discovered that Mary had a younger (10-year-old) sister, named Sarah, who is also unable to go to school. Their mother, who was once a pastor, is out of work and their father is not in the picture. They also have two working brothers, and they all live in a shack that is no larger than the average American laundry room.

Not being in school all day, means that these two girls would literally "sit around" all day, on the dusty cement steps of Aunt Jane's "house", with nothing to do. My heart HURT, just knowing that their mom simply cannot pay for them to go to school. I didn't want to see money getting in the way of their opportunity to education.

Education is so important--it is something that I was given, and it is something that I believe every single child should be entitled to. Mary and Sarah are so young and eager to learn. They are two deserving girls and they have the potential to be future leaders in this world. With an education, I believe they can educate others. They can help change the system, speak their opinions, while being respected for it, and hopefully, they will one day be able to use what they've been given to make a difference.

Yesterday, McKenzie, Maggie, Callie, and I (who all want to make sure that these two beautiful, young girls get an education) went to meet with Miss Jane, Mary & Sarah, and their mom, to pay a visit and to pay school fees to the school that they had selected. We met with the school accountant and secretary, trying to develop a plan to ensure that these girls start school on Monday (as school already started at the beginning of September).

The secretary quickly informed us that after testing the girls last week, that each of them were severely behind and "below grade level". Mary, age 12, would be placed in grade 4, and Sarah, age 10, would be placed in grade 3. She told us that they would need extra 1-on-1 teacher help, in addition to the day's schooling, so the girls could catch up. The school, like most in Ghana, is taught in all English, and the girls know very little English. When I asked Mary (age 12) to write her name, she buried her head and giggled, slightly shy and a little embarrassed. These girls don't even know how to write their own name.

After touring the facilities and asking many questions, we began calculating all of the costs. What we were initially told would be $30-40 per girl per year, quickly became an outrageous number, after adding up school uniform fees, books, and admission fees. We decided to go ahead and pay what we had with us, what we could afford, which was $115 per girl, for a total of $230, so the girls can start on Monday. This will pay for each girl for one school term (15 weeks) and covers the uniform fee, admission fees, and some books. This does not include school lunches everyday-which costs 60 cents per day, additional class time (which is an hour after school ends, to catch children up to the revised syllabus/curriculum---sounds confusing, right? It is.)-which is 30 cents for Sarah per day and 40 cents for Sarah per day. This also does not include the extra 1-on-1 teaching time per day, that the girls need to catch up to their classmates' level, nor does it include the list of books each girl is required to have (about $30 per girl). And, you pay by "term", which is only 15 weeks. There are 3 terms (so the admission fees must be paid three times a year, and slightly decreases with each term, as you're not continually paying for a new uniform and other one-time fees). Whew...

I write this, because it is the least I can do after witnessing it. After experiencing it, I felt I should somehow share it with part of the world. We are so blessed in the US to have the public school system and the opportunities that we have. If you, or anyone you know, feels called to make a donation or to help sponsor Mary & Sarah in anyway possible, please feel free to contact me (blog comment, facebook, email: cbrantmeyer@gmail.com, etc.). Every bit will make a huge difference and you will be a part of giving a child the best gift possible: an education.