The education of a daughter compromised

My name is Anna Seck. I am the mother of Anna Aw, a pupil at Saint Gabriel College, a public school in Thiès (70 kms from Dakar).

I used to sell local juices and I was able to provide for my daughter who was doing quite well at school. In fact, she won a prize for each of her essays. When COVID-19 happened, my business was severely impacted because the measures taken by the authorities did not allow me to sell my products.

Markets and schools were closed, or their activities were reduced to essential operations. I was then unable to pay my daughter’s school fees and the school refused to issue a half-yearly report card. I did what I could so that she could sit for the BFEM exam (general certificate at the end of junior school) and thank God she passed.

My daughter should be going into her first year of high school, but without a report card, her registration and her studies are compromised. COVID-19 had a real negative impact on my daughter’s education.