Girls in Education
Breaking through barriers, visually impaired Mercy aspires to become a teacher.
Girls are better equipped to achieve their goals and find jobs when they are given the opportunity to pursue an education. It is crucial that every girlchild receive the same education as every boychild because education for girls is also said to be one of the best ways to stop the poverty trend that is unstoppable.
Still, there are some countries, like Liberia, where it is more difficult to keep girls in school. One challenge is the struggles families face to feed their children at home and at school. Additionally, because some parents rely on their girl children to provide the family's income, it is common for young girls to become pregnant or get married young.
Visually impaired Mercy might have been a victim of dropping from school if Mary's Meals School Feeding Program was not implemented at her school.
For the past nine years, Mercy, a fifteen-year-old girl with visual impairment, has received Mary's Meals at her school. Mercy, like many children, feels hungry and struggles to concentrate in class when she does not eat Mary's Meals or other meals during school hours. She is energized after eating Mary's Meals, allowing her to participate effectively in class. She attends the Liberia School For The Blind in Virginia, Montserrado County.
With Mary's Meals, students can focus on their studies without having to worry about running out of food at home.
Mercy loves social studies and hopes to become a teacher so that she can impart her knowledge and skills to other visually impaired children. She has six siblings, and she is the only member of her family with visual impairment. She didn't have visual impairment from birth; sadly, the incorrect medication given to her to treat a cold when she was nine years old caused her unfortunate condition.
Mercy received a double promotion to the grade-7 class after finishing first in the Grade-6 class with an average of 90% for the first semester of the 2023 – 2024 school year.
Even though Mercy is disabled, but she still manages to take care of herself, study hard, perform well in class, and encourage other visually impaired students—especially young girls—to maintain focus in the classroom.
Mercy is pushing blind young women to persevere fearlessly and seek education to get over social barriers and prepare for the future.
"When I think about my physical disability, it makes me sad, but there is nothing I can do to restore my sight. All I can do is to encourage myself and believe in God that despite my condition, I will be a great person in society, which is why I am so passionate about my education."
Mercy family loves her and are willing to support her in realizing her goal of becoming a teacher.
There are still some communities that maintain that girls should never go to school because they will stay at home and take care of the household duties like cooking for their husbands, cleaning their clothes, and other household chores.
According to Mercy, education is crucial for all girls, just as it is for boys.
“Education is very important for every child whether boy or girl. I feel sad when I heard that some families and communities still discriminate against the education of girl children. When a girlchild is empowered to go to school and to be educated, that girl will be able to herself and her country tomorrow.”
