The girls who enjoy their village life
Eight-year old Rehema Ndalama fetching water at one of the wells in her village. This is part of her daily routine. Photo | Esther Kibakaya
What you need to know:
- She is not alone, her friends from the neighbourhood are there as well as they laugh and play in the process.
- This has been Rehema’s routine ever since she started standard school in a village primary school close to her home.
It’s Sunday afternoon, Rehema Ndalama, a Standard Two pupil living in Urughu Village in Singida is busy fetching water from a nearby well.
She is not alone, her friends from the neighbourhood are there as well as they laugh and play in the process.
This has been Rehema’s routine ever since she started standard school in a village primary school close to her home.
Despite her young age she has been actively helping out with house chores every time she gets back home from school.
Her friends too whom are between 7 and 8 years old, also help out with many activities at their home which include babysitting their brothers and sisters, fetching water and keeping the house cleaning.
Because they always go barefoot, the soles of their feet are very rough, hardened with the long journeys that they have to walk.
Like many children of her age in this village, poverty hasn’t been an obstacle for them to enjoy the little things that life has to offer.
“We don’t have electricity or running water in our village but we are always happy, I love going to the well with my friends because we get a time to play and it is always fun while there,” says the eight-year-old Rehema.
Rehema wants to become a teacher when she grows up because she sees it as the only way through which she can bring change to her community.
“I admire my teachers for their strength and bravery and I wish to be just like them in the future all I have to do is to work hard in school,” she says.
Just like Rehema, Margret Musa 9, understands the importance of friends, family and education despite the difficulties that they face in the village. “Life in the village is fun, we always have activities to do from home to school,”
Margaret adds: From early in the morning until night when we go to sleep I am always looking forward to come to school every day despite the fact that I am sometimes forced to sit on the dusty floor in a crowded class.
Mary lives near the school and therefore it takes her almost 10 minutes to get to school every morning.
“I‘ll be happy if they will make our school a happy place where we come to learn. Because of shortage of water we are always forced to come to school with water to use in the toilet and watering the school garden,” says Magreth.
