By Nadine Augustin Paul, Child Advocate
Samson wakes up at 3 o’clock in the morning to bring merchandise from his house to the market. He makes this quarter-mile trek carrying sacks of dry beans, rice, corn meal, wheat and many other products. In the afternoon, he retraces his steps to get the products back home after the market day is over. He does this every single day of the week, month, and year. He also has to clean the house, fetch water, do the laundry for the three other people who live in the house with him, yet I never hear him complain.
This is tough work for an eight year-old boy who does not have even time to go school. This was how old Samson was when I first met him in four years ago. He had just lost his mother, and his father, a farmer, could not care for the four kids he had. In hopes of giving him a better life, his father sent Samson to live with his cousin.
Samson joined our Child Advocacy Program in 2011 and was enrolled at one of our partner schools. He showed a lot of interest in school, and was recruited to be part of the afternoon program. Since then, he has been one of the most consistent children at the school. He has made a lot of progress, growing both physically and emotionally. He looks delighted every time I come to meet with him. I am so proud to say that last year he entered the accelerated learning program at his school, and will be going on to secondary school next year.
When Samson first came to live with his cousin, he was kept from having contact with his biological father. However, as he grew up he was allowed to have a voice in the house, and asked to have contact with his father.
Samson is very motivated in school; he is calm and shows leadership among the new kids in the program. At the beginning of the school year, I met with the director of his school. I was telling her how I am proud to see the kids progressing; she blessed me when she in turn said, “Nadine, you are not only changing these kids’ lives, but you are changing their families’ lives as well!”
I thought a lot about what she said. The kids in our program say they now feel valued in their host homes, because they can help the other kids in the house with their homework. Others feel valued because they have the best average in their class. Their teachers and classmates respect them, because they see the children’s capacity to learn in spite of living and working for a host family.
Samson’s father sent him away in hopes of a better future for the family. Without any help, this hope would be buried somewhere. However, his father’s dream is going become a reality, because his son found help in getting his education. With the knowledge has gained, he will be able to change his family’s life and, I believe, even his community.
