Giving Thanks For Education - Massoh's Story
Published Tue, Nov 28, 2023
Written by Dana Kaltenberger
Giving Thanks for Education - Massoh's Story
Every day, girls in Sierra Leone drop out of school due to child marriage.
Massoh Fofanah, a Senior Secondary School third year (12th grade) student found her voice to speak against a proposed marriage and continue with her education.
Massoh is from Gbenikoro village in the under resourced northern part of Sierra Leone. Massoh joined EduNations Hope Academy school in 2018, when she was admitted in JSS1(7th grade) in Gbenikoro. After passing her BECE standard exams she was admitted to EduNations SSS in Rokassa in 2021 and chose the “commerce” track for her focus.
She is from a Muslim background whose tradition believes in early marriage and big families. Mossoh is the 8th of 13 children in her family who are subsistence level farmers, barely getting along.
Before coming to EduNations, Massoh experienced many challenges that could have kept her from attending or finishing school. When she was in class 6 at the age of 13 years, her parents had wanted to force her into early marriage, because they believed that “schools are for boys and not for girls”. After she refused the proposed marriage, Mossoh’s parents stopped supporting her education and other basic needs, hoping that she would be forced to leave school against her wish. But with your support, Mossoh was able to continue pursuing her dream of an education and a better future.
Mossoh says, “My educational experience at EduNations has impacted my life so much. I’ve learned all girls have the right to be free from all forms of violence, including the right to choose whom they will marry and when they will marry. I’ve learned it’s possible for me to realize my dream of becoming a Human Resource Manager. It has also helped me to become an out spoken student who has overcome public fears.”
Mossoh continues, “I have developed strong friendship and relationships at EduNations Hope Academy Rokassa, by having spiritual and academy mentors, parents and friends who are becoming brothers and sisters to me.
My Christian faith and relationship with Jesus at EduNations grew through the discipleship classes every Tuesday. At first, I didn’t believe in Jesus, but now I’m convinced and bold to say Jesus died for my sin and only He can save me.
Upon graduating from high school at EduNations, I will be pursuing a Degree program in Human Resource Management. Looking at how God is expanding the work at EduNations, I hope to come back and serve as one of their Human Resource officers.
To our donors and sponsors, I want to say thank you for being an agent in igniting hope through education, especially for this girl child. May God continue to uphold and bless you for such a generous act. I love you all. God bless EduNations!”