18 December 2006

Education Provides New Opportunities for Girls in Chad

Partnership for a Better Life

 

Girls in N’Djamena, Chad, learn English for free at the U.S. Embassy's American Language Center. (US Embassy - Chad)

On the dusty streets of N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, a number of frail-looking girls work selling peanuts to passers-by. They speak neither French nor Arabic -- the languages of educated people in the country -- and do not go to school. Instead, they are trying to help their families by earning a tiny income. Without education, they face early marriage as a means of survival.

Close to where the girls sell the peanuts, the U.S. Embassy operates a small English-language training center. The school's typical students -- business people, university students, teachers and others who can afford to study -- pay low fees to attend.

But there are nontypical students as well. In 2003 embassy staff member Marissa Maurer decided to reach out to the peanut girls standing around the language center and invited them, with their parents’ approval, to study English for free. The girls agreed -- they usually were not busy during the middle of hot afternoons. The center allowed them a safe, cool and clean place to gather and a chance to learn.

Other girls heard about the program, which grew to provide at any one time an average of 15 girls aged 10 to 17 with new language skills. U.S. Embassy employees and families have raised funds for the center; it has been able to purchase a new video series with workbooks for the girls. The Peace Corps and other organizations have donated books.

The center's lessons teach girls basic skills -- how to speak some English, read, spell and write their names -- and lead them to an increased earning potential. The program also empowers the girls by giving them confidence and a sense of hope.

One girl student was hired by a restaurant because of her ability to speak English. Another -- 13-year-old Halime -- uses English to persuade customers to buy more peanuts.

"My parents are very happy to see me speak English. They think one day I’ll get a very good job and maybe travel," Halime said.

Without the program, these girls would never have set foot inside a school. Anna, 18, stopped coming to the center a year ago when she got married, but has now returned. "My husband let me come study English because he knows it is very important to us," she said.

English lessons at the center inspired another former student, Haoua, to get a formal education with $20-a-year funding provided by embassy staff. She no longer sells peanuts.

About her three years of English classes, Haoua writes: "I got a job at an ice cream shop and speak to my English-speaking customers in English. They are very surprised and ask how come I speak English. I tell them that I learned it from the American Language Center.

"I want to continue my education. Thank you, embassy donors.”

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)