By Antonio Matimbe; Edited by Leanna Cappiello
Learning in a comfortable classroom environment is not a luxury that all students in northern Mozambique can afford. For Anabela, a 12-year-old sponsored child, the absence of desks in her school has compromised her quality education, not to mention her health.
Before last year, Anabela sat in an uncomfortable positon on the floor during lessons. She battled back pain, which also inhibited her handwriting.
Sitting on the ground not only forced kids like Anabela to study uncomfortably, but also raised health concerns. “I would to go clean to school and go back home dirty because we used to sit on a dusty ground,” she recalls. Not only was Anabela’s education at risk, her well-being was, too.
This year, Anabela’s school received school desks from World Vision, which allowed her and her classmates to sit and study with ease. “I like sitting in the school desks. It is much easier to study and my handwriting is improving so much now,” says Anabela.
Mr. Jose, the school principal, paints the picture of the life of a student without a desk:
“Imagine you sit under the tree, and use your own feet to support your exercise book. The surface in not flat. How is a child supposed to have a good handwriting that way? In a matter of minutes your backs starts hurting. You lose your focus. If you want to provide better education, you need to create a good environment for that, and school desks is a very important component.”
Today, sitting on her school desk, Anabela pulls her school books as she chats with her peers. Before them stands the mathematics teacher, using a white chalk to write the equation on the blackboard. Anabela is happy. Math is her favourite subject.
Students like Anabela have the desire to learn, and only need the right tools to help them succeed.
Supply a classroom and help children flourish in school.