Tragic occurrences in Amina Musa’s family interrupted her education. Her mother fell ill and Amina was pulled out of school to take care of her. Amina thought it was only a temporary setback—but it took three years to nurse her mother back to good health.
“Within that period, my elder sister got married at age 12 and I stayed at home helping my mother with domestic chores,” she says.
Amina was excited to return to school in Misau, local government area of Bauchi state. But she was turned away by the school authority. Because Amina was pulled out of school, her former classmates had advanced to Primary five. Amina had lost too much time.
Her father instructed her elder brother to enroll her in another school. Tragically, he died in an accident before he could enroll the teenager. She never returned to school again.
Amina felt helpless.
“It was painful watching other children go to school. I’d sit around and hear them throw around their knowledge. I did not understand what they were saying and I could not contribute,” she says.
So when Amina learned of a learning center that was opening close to her home, she quickly registered and enrolled.
“I am always excited going to the learning center. The way my teacher explains the lessons, makes it so easy to understand. When I am alone, I try to form words and pronounce them,” she says.
But it is not easy to forget all the years she lost not attending school. Amina believes her mother would have recovered more quickly if she had received proper medical attention at the hospital. Then she will have returned to school sooner.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“This is why I want to be a nurse. I hate how they shout at patients in the hospital,” she says. “My community needs more professionals in the healthcare system.”[/perfectpullquote]
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