A Small Win For Man But A Big Win For Mankind

I had been seeing her come to church once in a while. On that day, I asked Rosemary what she was doing, and she responded, "nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?" I asked. She responded she had completed her secondary School in 2016, but her parents did not have money to pay for her WAEC SSCE Exams; hence she came back from School and sat at home in the village while her mates were writing WAEC.

After the encounter with Comfort (not her real name), the single mum that got pregnant again, I was skeptical about helping just a random person in the village. I wanted someone who would be serious and could see a glorious future beyond the village. I assessed her and noticed she spoke good English, was confident and level-headed. Her cousin, who finished secondary School but did not write WAEC too, had gotten married and already had a child at the age of 19. I did not want this for her.

I asked Rose if she would like to go back to School and she quickly responded, "Yes, Sir."

Rosemary on her Matriculation Day at Taraba State University

That was the end of October 2017. We needed to get her back to School to resume SS3 in time so that she could be registered for WAEC and NECO SSCE. Most of the schools rejected her as Secondary schools hardly accept new intakes into examination years. Finally, her brother spoke to the Vice Principal of a Secondary School and got me to talk to him too. After telling him a compelling story, the vice principal agreed to admit her into SS3. Since the distance from the village to the School was quite huge, we were left with no choice than to register her as a boarding student. We prayed for her, and she left for School. By the end of November 2017, we paid for both WAEC and NECO exams, and by February 2018, we paid for her JAMB exams. The School took all candidates to a Cyber Café to register for the JAMB exams. The JAMB exams had become 100% Computer Based Tests. I honestly took it for granted that most students in the village were not privileged to operate a computer before, and most had and still have never done a Computer Based Test. The School's candidates did a mock exam before the main JAMB exam, and according to her, the manner of the exam was strange to most of them. She did the JAMB and later sat for WAEC exams.

The JAMB result came out, and she scored 154 out of a total score of 400. That was very discouraging but I recalled that this was a girl that had not operated a computer all her life up to a few days to the JAMB exam. She wrote her WAEC exams and NECO exams and made all her papers scoring B in some subjects. Her dad scolded her for not doing well in her JAMB. He felt she had disappointed the Pastor, who believed so much in her. I told her, "we go again".

Rosemary

We registered her for JAMB in 2019, and since she had only the JAMB exam to write, she had ample time to practice writing tests, using a personal computer. When the results came out, she scored 184. My heart sank. How would she get admission with a score less than the average mark? Nevertheless, I helped her pursue her admission at the JAMB office; guided her towards uploading her WAEC results on the JAMB portal; and contacted someone at the university she chose as first choice to alert us and guide us on what we needed to do.

I was preparing for church on the 31st of December when I saw several missed calls on my phone. I called back, and it was Rose screaming with excitement that she had been offered admission into Taraba State University. My joy knew no bounds. What a New Year present it was. Apparently, the admission had been on the JAMB portal for some days but we did not know. It could have expired as the School had already resumed for the new academic session. It was a race against time. She needed to travel all the way from Abuja to Taraba State. We needed money and I was cash strapped at that time. I made some frantic calls to some friends and posted the story on some WhatsApp groups. Some of my friends responded positively and sent money immediately. She left for the School in a journey that took about 14 hours. Her first time of embarking on such a long journey, but she did not mind. She made it to the School just in time for the registration, and she settled down fully as a student of Theatre Arts in Taraba State University.

I gave a testimony in church and thanked God it was not a wasted effort. Writing her story gives me joy as part of my achievements in Gbaukuchi village. I pray for and speak to her weekly to be sure she is on the right track.

However, I always imagine many students like Rose, whose futures and destinies have been truncated due to their location or lack of resources and proper guidance. Every child deserves an education. It is a 'Right' and never a 'Privilege'.

This might be a small win for man but indeed, a big win for mankind.