How to Get a Passing Grade in School
The following story was shared by Rachel Martin in the October 2006 GlobalFingerprints e-newsletter. The account was written by one of her colleagues in the Congo, AIDS worker Mandaba Kosse.
You can subscribe to the e-newsletter by visiting http://www.GlobalFingerprints.org/.
Sandra is about 15 years old. Her mother died of AIDS and her father is very ill. She is struggling to go to school because she doesn't have any support to pay for school. She has to sell bananas in the morning and go to school in the afternoon.
Sandra suffers financially and the little money she makes cannot take care of all her needs. Sometimes in school, she told me, when students fail or miss taking a test, they are approached by corrupt teachers who ask for money to give them a passing grade. But Sandra doesn't have enough money. Nevertheless, one day when her teacher called her and told her that she had missed a test, and that he would give her an A+ if she were to "have sex" with him, Sandra was shocked and refused. So the teacher promised her that she would fail his class.
"When I heard this," Sandra said, "I asked myself how we would ever better our life and its conditions? How could I protect myself from sex like this, which can lead to AIDS?"
Sandra continued to share, "I know that in a few days, I'll be an orphan and will have to take care of myself and my two young brothers." And then she asked, "If I do such things, suppose I get AIDS? Who will take care of my brothers? If I don't go to school, it is difficult to find a job. The few things that we sell don't take care of our needs. So now what do we do?"
I understood how she felt. I thought back to the recent civil wars in our country. There were troops from different countries that passed through our town of Gemena -- soldiers from Rwanda, Uganda and Chad. They slept with girls and women here, and most of the women didn't know if these soldiers were infected or not. Since then, nurses have reported that their passage through our towns left many people infected with HIV.
I tried to encourage Sandra to rely on God, because He is the solution to our problems. She confirmed that at her school teachers really do behave the way she had said all the time toward the girls, so I promised that I would talk with her director.
As we work in our AIDS programs, we want to make girls more aware of this problem and help them avoid such things. We don't want this to happen to them. Through acts like this, many people are infected.
You can subscribe to the e-newsletter by visiting http://www.GlobalFingerprints.org/.
 Sandra shares her shocking story with GlobalFingerprints staffer Mandaba Kosse. | One day when I was going home from work, I met a young girl whose name is Sandra. When I saw her, she was crying and so I approached her and asked what had happened. Sandra replied, "Please, I have many things that disturb me." I realized that she was angry so I tried to cool her down. After a few minutes, she started to explain her pain. I knew by the way she talked that she knew who I was and where I work. |
Sandra is about 15 years old. Her mother died of AIDS and her father is very ill. She is struggling to go to school because she doesn't have any support to pay for school. She has to sell bananas in the morning and go to school in the afternoon.
Sandra suffers financially and the little money she makes cannot take care of all her needs. Sometimes in school, she told me, when students fail or miss taking a test, they are approached by corrupt teachers who ask for money to give them a passing grade. But Sandra doesn't have enough money. Nevertheless, one day when her teacher called her and told her that she had missed a test, and that he would give her an A+ if she were to "have sex" with him, Sandra was shocked and refused. So the teacher promised her that she would fail his class.
"When I heard this," Sandra said, "I asked myself how we would ever better our life and its conditions? How could I protect myself from sex like this, which can lead to AIDS?"
Sandra continued to share, "I know that in a few days, I'll be an orphan and will have to take care of myself and my two young brothers." And then she asked, "If I do such things, suppose I get AIDS? Who will take care of my brothers? If I don't go to school, it is difficult to find a job. The few things that we sell don't take care of our needs. So now what do we do?"
I understood how she felt. I thought back to the recent civil wars in our country. There were troops from different countries that passed through our town of Gemena -- soldiers from Rwanda, Uganda and Chad. They slept with girls and women here, and most of the women didn't know if these soldiers were infected or not. Since then, nurses have reported that their passage through our towns left many people infected with HIV.
I tried to encourage Sandra to rely on God, because He is the solution to our problems. She confirmed that at her school teachers really do behave the way she had said all the time toward the girls, so I promised that I would talk with her director.
As we work in our AIDS programs, we want to make girls more aware of this problem and help them avoid such things. We don't want this to happen to them. Through acts like this, many people are infected.
posted by Larry Short at 7:21 AM
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