“I'm so happy because before I didn't use to study,” she says. “Just having gone back to school makes me feel very lucky.”
A year ago, that walk to school wasn't possible. Adel's father, a labourer whose work is unpredictable, could no longer afford to pay all his children’s school fees. With her brothers and sisters approaching their end-of-primary exams, Adel was the one who had to stay home.
She didn't give up
During that year at home, Adel didn't stop learning. Her father set her academic exercises to keep her going, and she worked through them day after day, holding on to the hope of going back.
“I practised those exercises a lot so that if one day I managed to get back to school, I'd be able to adjust.”
But she also lost something else during that year at home: the noise of a playground, the company of friends, and the freedom to just be a kid.
When Save the Children's education support project reached Adel's community, Adel's chance finally came. This project identified girls who were out of school and offered them a place with fully subsidised school fees.
“It was a joy for me to go back to school!”
A school transformed
On top of getting Adel back into the classroom, the project also built improved classrooms and facilities. Before the program, Adel and her classmates learned outside: sitting on the ground beneath trees or corrugated-iron shelters.
“We endured the heat and sometimes when the rain came it would fall on us, which made it difficult to write and to understand the lessons.”
Adel’s favourite teacher, Mr Kandu, teaches a maths lesson.
Thanks to supporters like you, six new classrooms and toilets have been built at Adel's school. Girls have received hygiene kits and school supplies, and the teachers – including Adel's favourite, Mr Kandu – have received training from Save the Children. A Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Club has been set up to give girls the knowledge and support to stay in school through every stage of growing up.
“The SRH club helped me because we used to worry. We wouldn't go to school when we had our period, because if we did we might stain the benches with blood and the boys would make fun of us. So when the SRH club came, they gave us all these items.”
Mr Kandu has watched Adel grow since she returned: “When she first came back to school, she was really worried. She didn't really have people to support her. Her parents were struggling. She had nothing. But then the project supported her. Now, Adel is truly calm. She's doing well.”
Play is childhood
Learning isn’t the only thing that Adel likes about school – it’s playing with her friends that brings her the most joy. She loves to laugh with Marie, have competitions with Marlene, and play games with everyone.
Adel (right) and her friends never miss a chance to play during their breaks at school.
“Before going to school I didn't have friends, but when I started going to school I made friends and we started hanging out together.”
Playing with friends is how children process difficult experiences, build trust with peers, and develop the cognitive, physical, creative and emotional skills that carry them through life. When a child loses access to school, they lose access to play, and that matters just as much as the lost lessons.
Play is a vital part of growing up, and protecting it is a serious responsibility. That is what the International Day of Play on 11 June exists to celebrate.