I Never Imagined I would go back to School!

As she talked to me, her breath grew heavier and heavier, the brightness of her eyes dimmed and they became heavy until she could hold it no more. She burst out into tears as she narrated her story to me, but interestingly, she smiled at some point as she continued the narration. That to me was a glitter of hope in the midst of hopelessness.

Cordelia Besingi is 40 years old and is back in Secondary school. When she finished primary school at the age of 13, her parents did not have money to send her to secondary school because they were poor. She got married at age of 14 in a little village called Madie Ngolo; not because she was in love with her husband at that age, but because her family thought she was ripe for marriage. Over the years, Cordelia has made 8 children in her hand-to-mouth marriage. Her last child is below five years old. Yet she returned to school in 2015.

“I never ever imagined that I would ever return to school in my entire life,” Cordelia told me.

Cordelia did not think she would go back to school because she is living in abject poverty with her husband. Her husband is a farmer while she exploits wild onions in the forest to sustain her family in Madie.

Madie is a little village in Toko Sub Division, Ndian Division, in the South West Region of Cameroon. The village has no road, no electricity, no pipe-born water, no internet, no TV signal, and no Radio signal. More than 90% of the villagers are farmers and hunters. A small percentage of the population are either school teachers or health center nurses who are usually not more than 5 in total.

In Madie village, education of the girl child is not a priority but however, parents are beginning to see the importance of girl child education and are sending the girls to school. But making progress in school for the girls is a far-fetched reality as most of the girls get pregnant in school, drop out, and never return to school. Pre-marital sex and incest is the order of the day because of the household living conditions and poverty.

Cordelia’s going back to school was triggered by the continuous pregnancy of her daughters whom her husband and she have been struggling to educate. She recounted that the decision moment for her to return to school was when once she attended a PTA meeting in the government secondary school that her children attend. During the meeting, the principal talked about the importance of girl child education and urged parents to guide their girls so that they grow to value education. Cordelia said during that meeting, a few people stood up to talk about their daughters who have gone to school and left the village to attend university and some working in the towns already.

Cordelia on hearing all these stories fell to ground uncontrollably and passed out.

“I only realized later that I was in the principal’s office surrounded by parents, teachers and the principal,\" she explained. “They told me I collapsed in the meeting.”

When Cordelia regained consciousness, the principal asked her if she knew why she passed out and then she explained that she couldn’t stand the reality that she has struggled to educate her girls but they keep getting pregnant in secondary and even primary school. She explained that she had even taken over care of her grand children and sent their mothers back to school, but they became pregnant again. Upon finishing her explanations, the principal asked her if she would like to return to school.

“I will like to go back to school,” she told the principal. “But, I don’t have any money.”

The principal then offered to give her scholarship for one year on the agreement that she would struggle to make it on her own the following year. That was deciding moment for her to shave her hair, wear a pair of uniform, carry a school bag and return to school like every regular student, to the amazement of all villagers. The principal then tested her common knowledge and placed her in Form three in secondary school, instead of form one. Her school is one hour away from her house, so she uses two hours every day to go to school and come back. Going to school for women her age is not a regular occurrence in that part of the country and so she is facing a lot of bullying as a result. Cordelia is in the same school with two of her children and all of them are ahead of her in class.

Even though she appreciated the principal’s offer, she did not know how she would cope with her school needs in the upcoming academic year, 2016.

Contrary to Cordelia’s thoughts of dropping, she stayed in school, thanks to an organization that offers scholarships to women and girls.

“I knew I was going to drop out in 2016, but God sent Rescue Women organization to offer me scholarship,” she talks with a bright smile covering her face. “I am praying that they continue to sponsor me till I get my Advanced Level Certificate.”

Cordelia has four years ahead of her to get her Advanced Level certificate, that is if she doesn’t fail her class and public examinations. She says she doesn’t want to go to the university because age, she thinks, is not on her side. Cordelia wants to train as a midwife immediately after her A’Levels certificate so that she would return to her village to rescue women who die of pregnancy and delivery related complications. She thinks God will use her to save the lives of women who constantly swell the number of maternal mortality rates in her community.

Cordelia, who is still living with her poor husband says her husband is very supportive and she is determined to make him proud, despite the negativity poured on her by other villagers as she goes to school.

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