A Dream Captured

Every morning, as the cockerels start crowing, Elimu’s dream of becoming a doctor comes to a sudden halt. “When will all these come to and end?” she asks herself. Elimu is 11 years old pupil in class four at Maendeleo primary school.

Her mornings are like hell on earth, she wakes up as early as four in the morning to prepare breakfast for the entire family, wash utensils and milk the cows. She also must fetch water from a stream one kilometre away oblivious of the dangers she is exposed to. These include being bitten by stray dogs and rape by uncaring men! She does all these while her siblings, mother and father enjoy their sweet dreams.

Her father had recently informed her mother that Elimu was ready for marriage and that he has been having a discussion with the richest man in the village who would marry her as the fifth wife and pay the pride prize of 20 heads of cattle and 15 goats. “My social status will also change as I will be counted as one of the rich families in this village” he would quip. Meanwhile as the traditions required, Elimu had been undergoing couching by her mother on how to make her man happy and raise a family.

At about seven in the morning, she is ready to take tea with others and rush to school but not until she is reminded by her elder brother that she is just wasting time and money going to school yet she will soon be a mother.

Elimu’s journey to school is full of thoughts on how she will overcome this monstrous obstacle threatening to deny her the wonderful job of being an accomplished doctor.
At school, she braces herself to confide her tribulations with her home science teacher who had become concerned on her deteriorating performance in her subject and having low concentration in class.

Luckily, the teacher was a member of gender at work team in the district, an organisation that promotes gender equality and empowerment at work places and communities through capacity building and advocacy. The teacher counselled her and after two weeks linked her to a Legal institution that provides legal services to marginalized children and women.
It was at this time also that her father had decided it was time to marry her off to the identified man. One evening he came home with the rich man to give her away on the agreed prize.

While busy preparing dinner for the family and her brothers studying, she was asked by her mother to stop cooking and start packing her clothes as her time to be married off had come. Noticing this, she pretended to go for a short call behind the kitchen and run as fast as her legs could carry her to the teacher’s home. “Teacher help! my father wants to marry me off. I don’t want to stop going to school!” she cried as the teacher opened the door.

The teacher called the legal service provider who provides services 24 hours a day who responded immediately. They came accompanied by police officers and the chief and together they went to her home. On arrival they found her father shouting fiercely to her mother to show where she has hidden her. On seeing her coming he threatened to beat her up for going against his will. The suitor and the father were arrested and taken to the local police station where they were counselled and provided with information on child rights and education. Through this, the father realized that the education of a child has more long term benefits than the pride prize paid for marrying her off.

On coming back Elimu’s father apologized to her and promised to support her nurture her dream. Elimu thanked her teacher and all for helping her to stay in school and see her dream come true. The father become a champion of child rights and gender empowerment in the location.