"Learning helps me to develop further and find my own way"

Rechor was born on October 5, 2006 in the Iringa region. She belongs to the Maasai ethnic group, which is deeply rooted in East Africa. She is now 16 years old and lives with her mother in a small village community after her parents separated. The separation not only brought personal changes, but also a break with their familiar surroundings: mother and daughter had to leave the village and build a new life for themselves.

Rechor is the youngest of five children. Her family comes from a remote part of the Ilambilole village in the rural district of Iringa. She is currently in second grade at St. James Kilolo Secondary School. In a conversation, she described education as something invaluable – a force that makes her grow and gives her maturity.

Her greatest wish is to be the first girl in her family to complete a full school education – and thus set an example. In her social environment, education is still predominantly seen as a matter for boys. Early marriage is widespread, especially in rural Maasai communities. Many families prefer to invest in their sons’ education, as educated girls move to their husbands’ families when they marry – and their knowledge no longer benefits the community of origin.

Rechor said that she wanted to go to school from an early age, although the financial hurdles were great. To enable her to attend Star Primary School, her parents sold three goats. With the support of SCHULBANK e.V., she was finally able to start her education. At the time, she dreamed of becoming a nurse – inspired by the women she saw on hospital visits with her mother.

But the path was not easy. After her parents separated, Rechor was torn from her familiar surroundings. Her mother was evicted from the family home. Rechor had to find her way in a new environment – without the resources she was used to, without security. The loss was great, the prospects seemed unclear. During this time, she almost lost hope of continuing her education.

SCHULBANK supported her during this difficult phase. With advice, listening and encouragement, she was able to look ahead again. “I was in seventh grade and didn’t know what to do next,” she recalls. The rising cost of living and pressure from the community made it difficult to keep believing in school.

In their home region, many girls experience a similar fate. Two out of ten girls are still married early and have little access to education. Many see no point in school, as they assume that girls have no future prospects outside of marriage anyway.

This has changed for Rechor. With the support of SCHULBANK, she realized that girls are very capable of taking responsibility, acquiring knowledge and initiating change. What they need is an opportunity. An open door. Rechor believes that education can also change mindsets – and that this is the key to a fairer future.

When people tell her that learning is useless, she disagrees: Knowledge, she says, can help to eliminate abuses – such as early marriage or female genital mutilation. Education opens people’s eyes to rights and opportunities for action. Girls should have the right to develop, grow and learn.

In the second semester of the 2022 school year, Rechor achieved an overall average of 74%. Her classmates affectionately call her the “ambulance” because she is always there when someone is sick – she helps, cooks and washes her classmates’ clothes. A quiet, caring force in her community.

In November 2023, Rechor will take her national exams – along with many other young people across the country. She still has a long way to go, but she has begun to walk it with courage and determination.

This story was compiled with the support of the village chief of Ilambilole and with the consent of Rechor’s mother. It is an example for many other young girls in remote regions who fight for their right to education every day.

Rechor’s path is an appeal – to all of us to see education not as a matter of course, but as what it really is: a human right and a door to a better future.