Abigail

Abigail is 16 years old and the eldest of six children.  Her mother recently passed away and the family had to move from a town, Nkawkaw, in the Eastern Region to a village in the Tongo Hills (in the Upper East Region) to be closer to their extended family, especially their grandmother.  Because of the move, her father had to leave his job (pushing carts in the bus station) behind.  He has been unable to find work in the village and, as a result, he’s had problems providing food for his children.  The family struggled to stay together.  Two siblings are staying with a family friend in Nkawkaw, two other siblings are in the village in Tongo and recently Abigail and her younger brother came to Beacon House in Accra.  When both parents were working (mother selling food on the roadside), all their children were in school.  Now none of the children are getting an education.

In many ways Abigail is a typical 16 years old.  She enjoys playing soccer and reading.  She looked forward to going to school and excelled in her studies.  She completed JSS (Junior Secondary School) and did very well in the National Exams (receiving a score of 15).  She would like to attend SSS (Senior Secondary School) and then proceed to nursing school - eventually becoming a nurse.  Abigail is a very caring girl and wants to enter the nursing profession so she can help others when they are sick. 

Abigail arrived at Beacon House last month (March 2011) and is staying temporarily as we look for sponsorship so that she can attend school in September 2011 and pursue her dreams.

In order for Abigail to attend a boarding school to finish her high school diploma, she will need USD 800/year for 2 years.  Please help sponsor Abigail – either donating a full school year’s fee ($67/month for a year) or donating some monies towards her schooling.

Romana: “When I first met Abigail about a year ago in her remote village in the Tongo hills, I was very impressed that she spoke good English and could give me the birth dates of ALL her siblings.  Since birthdays are not traditionally celebrated in Ghana many people (young and old) do not know their birthday.  I inquired more about her schooling and found that she did very well in the National Exams.  Unfortunately, she was sitting at home doing nothing.  I tried talking to her father about schooling but he was still mourning the death of his wife and worried how he would be able to feed all his children.  Even when we offered to send Abigail to boarding school to alleviate feeding one more mouth, he refused.  My concern for Abigail was that she might either get married or get pregnant. 

We went back this month to Tongo and Abigail was still doing nothing, not going to school. I tried again to talk with the father.  This time he agreed that we could send her to school.  We then went to Abigail’s former school to get her National Exam results, and the headmistress said that Abigail was a very good student and would have done even better on her exams if it wasn’t for her family circumstances of her mother’s illness at that time.”