open the door.
In the morning the cycle must continue. Sarah gets up. She walks the mile to fetch as much water as she can carry. She builds a fire to make breakfast. She cooks. She washes her face. She walks to school. She studies hard but sometimes she falls asleep as she has not slept. School finishes. She walks home. She fetches water. She does her chores. She cleans. She builds. She cooks. She misses evening prep. She locks the door of their bedroom.
At their school there is a Dormitory for girls to stay in, supervised by a matron and with a cook. It has the capacity for 60 girls although there are only 14 living there at present. Sarah’s father has decided that she cannot move into the dormitory as she has to care for her little sister and it is too expensive for them both to stay there.
DORMITORIES CHANGE LIVES
When girls move into hostels their lives change. More girls than ever enrol in school and are less likely to drop out because they feel safe, they have three meals a day which improves their health and concentration. They have more time to study and support each other, and they achieve better academic results – girls at Ukwega School held the top six places in the class in their National Form 2 exams. Educated girls have more life choices, they are more likely to get a well paid job, marry later, understand family planning, and put the money that they earn back into their families. Educated girls mean educated families and educated communities.
It costs £43 for one girl to live in a Dormitory for a year.
They will not have to lock the door of their bedroom.
“I love the dormitory as it lets me read in the evenings and study more also. It is also a lot safer for me to stay here and not have to stay in the Ghettos. I want to be a doctor. This dormitory will help me be a doctor!” Lucia Samuel, 15 Years Old, Form III Hydom School
Sarah Eliachim