Educating Parents on African Children Long Walk To Education

Long Walk to Education in Rural Africa

It is estimated that 29 million primary school-aged children, more than half of them girls, are out of school in Africa. UN figures show that between 1999 and 2008 girls’ enrolment in Africa has increased from 54% to 74%, but about 16 million are out of school.

Free primary education was introduced in Tanzania in 2001. After school, and another hour’s walk home, children will walk another hour each way to fetch water, and then eat dinner, study, and sleep.

One teacher at Mwangala Primary School in Mombasa County, Kenya says, "Maybe 70% of our students come here from more than 3 miles or about 5 km away, so a lot of children arrive late—and they haven't had any breakfast and they don't get lunch here. The only get food at night. Can you imagine trying to teach a child who has not eaten anything all day and has walked so far?"

With the moderation of roads and transportation infrastructure, the days when students used to walk miles to access school maybe dwindling in urban areas thanks to the emergence of alternative means of transport like school buses and private cars.

However, even with these developments, there are students who still walk long distances to school due to high transport fairs. Children in remote communities still walk long distances to school or sadly do not attend school at all.

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Being African in America I have grown up learning about different ethnic cultures. My mother is a historian of African culture and history and her influence expanded my activities to several best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, self-branded products, and a popular African culture and food blog.