Dignity Restored to Fatmata
Published Wed, Mar 29, 2023
Written by Sarah Pietryga
Abandoned by her mother and rejected by her father, Fatmata Sesay struggled to find her place in the world. A loving woman named Ya Mabinty cared for Fatmata and took her to the village of Rokassa where she enrolled Fatmata in EduNations Hope Academy Primary School.
In April, Fatmata will be one of the first graduates of EduNations Senior Secondary School. As a bright young woman with a promising future, Fatmata is thankful for the impact that EduNations has had on her life.
“As a child I didn’t get the luxury of enjoying my parents or the love of my siblings, and when I came to know the story of my family, I was heartbroken and could not do well in school. I felt like an abandoned child with no parents to love and raise me up and no siblings to play with. I am blessed to have found my new family, which is the EduNations family. EduNations has given me the opportunity to be loved and to live by educating me from the primary school to high school in Rokassa.”
“I am grateful to EduNations because as a girl child growing up, they have upheld my dignity by providing me with sanitary kits. With these kits I can feel safe and dignified in the community and in school as well.”
“One of my best moments [is] when the Psychosocial coordinator comes to teach sex education, gender issues, children’s rights and especially [rights of] the girl child as she will always say, “Now is the time for girls to take the lead.” Her inspirational messages have helped me in my class, knowing that as a girl child, I must fight for my place, know my right in the community, report any form of abuse, and say no to teenage pregnancy. There are reports of sexual abuses and FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) in our communities and schools and unfortunately many of us girls have been exposed to them, but I have learned that in Christ I am new, and I am whole.
Many female students face hurdles of gender discrimination and abuse, even falling victim to the archaic tribal practices of female genital mutilation. EduNations continues to be on the front lines of combating these issues and empowering our female students in Sierra Leone. Young women like Fatmata are now standing up and speaking out on these issues on behalf of themselves and others.
Thank you to our valued supporters who make this work possible through your generous giving. You are giving self-worth, dignity and integrity to female students just like Fatmata.
