You're watching UNICEF Television. In this remote village in Northwestern Kenya, Turkana District, Lowa Lokopu is busy arranging pieces of sticks before strapping them together in small bundles for sale. It's been four years since her husband died, leaving her alone as the sole breadwinner of the family. Poverty forced her eldest daughter to drop-out of school when she became pregnant, but today, two years on, Sheila is beating the tradition and returning to school. "But now since she has gone back to school, I am asking her to work hard, and not to repeat the same mistake again. I am asking her not to take her education lightly." It takes great courage and commitment for young mothers like Sheila to leave their children at home and pick up their books again. "The issue of pupils dropping out of school, especially girls, has been brought out by the factor of poverty, which is affecting almost all families in Turkana." In an effort to lessen the burden on girls seeking an education, UNICEF is partnered with the African Girls Initiative, to supply sanitary towels, and boarding equipment like beds, mattresses, and bedsheets in schools.
Back in the girls' dormitory, Sheila draws her mosquito net alongside her bed. A few years ago she couldn't afford to board here. But with the government's new regulations, boarding expenses have been cut down. And with the supplies from UNICEF, Sheila is even more motivated to stay in school, "The reason why I returned to school is that I'm hoping that when I finish school, and secure a job, I can help my mother, my child, and all of my siblings." Determined and focused, Sheila says she's ready to change her destiny.
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