The Sister Hood

March 09, 2012

The Sister Hood

Sometimes I wake up with my heart beating uncontrollably, because I’ve had yet another nightmare that one of my sisters has entered women hood.

Don’t get me wrong, I want them to grow up and become the beautiful women I know they're going to be...but, I worry about this place.

I'm concerned with the fact that humanity has become a mystery, people aren't so honest anymore.

I worry that naiveté isn’t a quality that most people can appreciate.

I worry that they're going to be faced with challenges that I, myself, cannot deal with.

My youngest sister, Kezia [in blue], has a very strong character but still manages to be as sensitive as a feather. She takes everything serious and literal. And, of course she's having the most difficult time at school.

They started 7th grade this year at Escola Secundaria da Maxaquene, and it's been a nightmare for all of us!

Public schools here in Mozambique are just a horrendous. Every time they come back from school they have some unimaginable episodes to tell me.

Aside from the constant bullying [she has an accent from the northern area of Mozambique, which sounds something like mermaids singing under water. ..If mermaids existed...but hey, who's to say they dont?] , she also has to put up with abusive 'teachers'.

"My teacher hit my colleague for chewing gum today." Said Kezia one of these days. "What do you mean he 'hit' him?" I asked.

She goes on to tell me the story of how her Social Studies teacher hit her 11 year colleague by striking him on the back several times, and then literally kicking the kid out of class. What bothered me most was that she seemed amused with this, and not one bit shocked. Witch led me to believe that it was something not only normal to them, but acceptable.

The older one [above], Lukie, is the one with a social agenda bigger than anyone I know. She has so many friends that she actually avoids some. She's sweet and thoughtful.

She get's along with everybody in school and then some!

Lukie is in such a critical stage, that I'm afraid she may mature too fast.

Needless to say, I am now investigating for affordable private schools around our area, and so far, the ones I have found are out of my price range. Grrrrr! The frustation! [If you know of any good schools around town, with reasonable tuitions, please let me know, I would really appreciate that, I might even jump out of the screen and hug you really tight!]

But the one thing I can tell you for sure is that because of them and because of all the faults in our country's educational system, I am fueled with drive to guarantee that my sisters come out on top. I want more than anything to be a good role model for them, and be able to guide them through all the challenges they may face.