Born in 1938 to a father who believed school was only for sons, my mother never spent a single day in a classroom. By eight, she was already sweeping floors, cooking, and raising her siblings while her brothers were sent to study. Long before she could read a single word herself, she made sure her younger sisters never missed a day of school and only in her twenties, through free night classes, did she finally learn to read and write.
My mother was born in 1938, into a world that offered little opportunity to girls. Her father believed that education was only for boys, so while her brothers were sent to school, she never received a single day of formal education.
At just eight years old, she became the backbone of her family. While other children played, she swept floors, cooked meals, washed clothes, and cared for her younger siblings. She also helped her mother run a grocery shop. Her father worked in the barbershop next door, while her mother often spent long hours peddling goods in nearby towns. For all her labour, my mother received no salary and rarely any praise.
Life was not entirely without rewards. Once in a while, when her mother had managed to save some money, she would take my mother to town and buy gold jewelry. Those precious trips became treasured memories amid years of hardship.
Although denied an education, my mother never gave up on learning. In her twenties, she heard from friends about free night classes run by a church. Eager to read and write, she enrolled and finally gained the literacy she had long been denied.
What made her story even more remarkable was her determination that her younger sisters would not suffer the same fate. While her brothers often played truant despite having access to schooling, my mother faithfully escorted her sisters to school every day, ensuring they received the education she never had.