Narrate a Story of a Boy/Girl , Who had to struggle a lot for education
Answers
Answer:
Hope this helps you.
Explanation:
Cati, an educational assistant in one of the Alternative Education Clubs of the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities in Bucharest, explains how her struggle for education for all is rooted in her own history.
By Cati Vatala (Romania)
Life is giving me strength. Because I grew up in a ghetto in Bucharest and had to take care of many kids, and of my people — and even if sometimes I feel done or if I am tired — I remember my experience, as I want to make a change for my community.
I spent my childhood and grew up in the Rahova ghetto, in Bucharest. It was a happy time for me because nobody cared if you were Romanian, Roma, or poor. We shared everything between us and even if we were poor, we didn’t feel the effects as much because we were helping each other.
When I was in 5th grade, I put some pressure on my mother to come to my school. My mother didn’t want to, but I persuaded her and she came. Then, the other kids started to bully me, to laugh at me, and they discriminated against us because my mother has dark skin. So from that moment, I didn’t go to school any more.
Despite this, I liked school. I liked the education. I tried to return to school, but I didn’t manage. I became an adult, an uneducated adult.
When I left the Rahova ghetto, I saw the other parts of the town and their better living conditions. I moved from job to job: I was a cleaning lady, a sewing lady; I was a hygienist. I managed to work with cosmetics. But the pay wasn’t very good with these jobs because I didn’t have the papers, the diplomas, to say that I was an educated individual.
I was 26 years old when I managed to re-enroll myself in the education system. I managed to finish another two classes; 7th and 8th grades. As a mother, I try to give to my kids the best that I can because I don’t want them to go through what I have experienced. I am proud that my older boy has just finished high school with his qualification. He wants to go to university. And my girl has also finished 8th grade. Right now she is enrolled in high school. I have another kid, a little one who has autism. It was very hard to find some help for him. Fortunately, I met an NGO that supports us. I learnt so much from my boy while helping his development.
Then I met the Policy Center for Roma and Minorities, who offered me work as an educational assistant in an Alternative Education Club.
The club has been described as a safe and creative space which is inside the school, open 6 days a week, even during summer holidays, and where the children interact with educational assistants and volunteers who offer them support and mentoring. The educational assistants support the participation of the parents in promoting education and in the life of their neighborhood. Their role is very important, as they help to make bridges between teachers, children and their parents.
Without the educational assistants emerging from the community, the Alternative Education Club will not bring about change for the school and the children. The children won’t come to this space if they don’t find people there they can trust.
It has been four years now since I became involved with the club. I like to help the kids as an educational assistant and I can do it because of the skills I have learnt with my younger boy.
Sometimes it’s very hard to make others aware that they need to study. I speak a lot with the kids and I go to the home of their parents as well. Often, I feel frustrated because kids leave school or skip classes and go to work. Parents tell me, “Now he is a man. He has to go to work”. On the other hand, it’s very hard for the families as they are given 84 lei (18 euros) per month for each kid by the National Government program to buy the materials and clothes needed for school. It’s not enough.
To be effective, the role of the educational assistant has to be accepted by everybody. It means the educational capacity of the assistant has to be recognized by the teachers within the school and by the parents of the neighborhood, as well as the personal capacities to create bridges. These capacities, this know-how are not something that is achieved easily or quickly. They are rooted in a long history.
Answer:
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