written Sunday, 10 June 2007
Yesterday I went to a neighboring village for a wedding, and most of the day I was "babysat" by an 11-year-old girl who was in charge of taking me around to greet people, making sure I got lunch, etc.
She didn't speak any French, which is an indication that she hasn't spent much time in school, so I asked her about whether she goes to school. She told me that she "finished" school last year and now she stays at home to help out with the housework. She showed me her school notebook from last year - she was just beginning to learn how to write letters (she was really terrible at it) and learning single-digit addition and subtraction (which she got perfect scores in).
She seemed like a smart girl, and was certainly very nice to me. It makes me sad to think that she's going to grow up essentially illiterate with no options for her life other than to do houose chores until she's married (probably when she's about 15), and then have babies and do more house chores for the rest of her life.
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