“I don’t want my kids to live the same life I have been living because of illiteracy. My parents gave me away for an arranged marriage to a man who has a wife and three children. My husband has only one hectare of land to raise the 20 kids he has from myself and his other wife (12 kids from me and 8 from her). Things got worse following his death nine months ago. Four of my kids would have dropped out of school if not for imagine1day as I could not afford their school supplies,” says Seada Hussien, 43 years old, and a mother of 12 in the Weltei Chefa community.
Seada learned about imagine1day’s intervention in Weltei Chefa primary school during her attendance in the coffee conversation initiated by imagine1day.
Seada says, “We meet every two weeks, and the leader of the coffee conversation is the school principal. We discuss lots of issues related to education and it has changed us all for the better. I wasn’t sharing at-home responsibilities among my children fairly. It was always the girls who would help me with the daily chores while the boys did whatever they wanted. But now both the boys and the girls have equal time to study. I don’t just leave my kids, giving them time to study, I follow how they are doing in their education. I thank EAC and imagine1day for empowering me.”
Zekira Abdella is one of Seada’s six children who are attending Weltei Chefa school. She is a gender club member and a grade seven student. She is very grateful to EAC and imagine1day for their support.
“My only path was early marriage if imagine1day didn’t come to our school, as my mom could not afford my school expenses. Apart from the scholastic material provision, I am also able to be in school without absence during my menstruation as I get sanitary pads and soap every month. My mom also encourages me a lot now that she attends coffee conversations. She gives me adequate time for studying. I want to make her proud by being a doctor,” says Zekira passionately.