- Holds On To Dream Of Education

At 15, Mariam Diakite is doing what she once feared she might not be able to do: staying in school and planning for a future beyond early marriage.

Mariam was sent to live with her grandmother when she was seven. She said there was an expectation that she would eventually marry, just as her older sister had.

Her sister, who she is next to got married at 15, and Mariam said her family wanted her to follow the same path.

But her future changed when her grandmother’s children recognized the importance of sending her to school.

Today, Mariam is in Grade Eight at T5 Institution in Neezoe Community and dreams of becoming a nurse.

“I am happy that I am in school,” Mariam said.

She said she wants to continue her education and build a career before considering marriage.

For Mariam, school has given her an opportunity to imagine a different future from the one that had been expected of her.

She hopes other girls will also be given the chance to complete their education before entering marriage.

Her experience shows how family decisions can influence whether a girl remains in school or becomes a wife while she is still a child.

For her grandmother last daughter, who is the sponsor of her education, said though it is not easy, but she knows how important girls education is.

The grandmothe’s daughter, Hawa Dolley, is the one who is the sponsor of her education, a woman in her 30s and working said even if she can’t eat she would send Mariam to school because there is not educated person amongst Mariam mother’s kids and so tomorrow Mariam would be able to help her own siblings and her parents because they live in the village.

Marriage at 16 Changed Mayamu Kromah’s Education and Future Plans.

When Mayamu Kromah married at 16, she was still a Grade 10 student with plans to complete high school.

The marriage, however, changed the direction of her education.

Mayamu married her cousin, while she was still in school. After the marriage, she was unable to continue school.

Her first child came soon afterwards, bringing new responsibilities and making a return to the classroom more difficult.

Still determined to continue her education, Mayamu later enrolled in night school after giving birth.

But the opportunity did not last.She said she eventually stopped attending after her husband accused her of cheating.

She later became pregnant with her second child and now spends much of her time caring for her children.

Mayamu said marriage brought responsibilities that made education increasingly difficult.

“Marriage changes a lot because time won’t be in my favor again,” she said.

Despite the setbacks, she has not abandoned her ambition of becoming a nurse.

She said she loves nursing and wants to help people, but she is uncertain when she will be able to return to school.

“Becoming a nurse is possible but difficult because I have to take care of my home and kids,” she said.

Mayamu’s experience illustrates how early marriage can affect a girl’s education beyond the moment she leaves school. Marriage, childbirth, household responsibilities and difficulties returning to class can continue to shape her opportunities years later.