Girl Rising Page #2

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reciting the lessons that

she now missed so much.

Mama! Mama!

What happened, Wadley?

The school! The school is open!

I know.

Please go get the water, Wadley.

The school is open.

Why can't I go to school?

Because we have no money.

Money was still not completely

clear to Wadley.

She knew that there was never

enough of it.

That some people have

more of it than others.

And that it determined in many cases

how people looked at you.

And talked to you.

And treated you.

It was the reason some people

ate three meals every day,

while others ate every couple of days.

It was why, she was learning now,

some kids went to school and

others did not.

The next morning Wadley decided

that she would go to school

and sit on the bench in front of

madame Lorry, along with the others

no matter that there was no money.

That's what she would do.

Do you go to school here?

For a moment Wadley wondered how

madame Lorry could not recognize her,

but, remembered Wadley,

the earthquake had twisted

a lot of people's minds.

Many people did not even

recognize themselves anymore.

Yes, Madame, I was

your student here.

I know that, Wadley,

but actually, this is a new school.

Did your mother pay the money?

No, there is no money.

Well, I'm sorry...

But you have to go, Wadley.

Come back when she can pay.

Wadley decided that even though

money could do many things,

it was also a curse.

Because only a cursed thing

could keep her out of school.

But she was not cursed.

Hadn't she been hearing from her

mother and the others in the tent camp

that those who had survived

the earthquake were blessed?

Surely it meant that she was

supposed to do something special.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust -

she thought to herself.

The next morning Wadley

started for the tent school again.

She wasn't sure what

she was going to do.

But she was determined

to go and stay.

Has your mother paid yet, Wadley?

Has your mother paid the money?

No.

Will you leave, Wadley?

No.

You need to go home, Wadley.

No.

This is the last time I'll tell you.

If you send me away,

I will come back every day

until I can stay.

What's this?

Even if you send me away, I will

come back every day until I can stay.

And the flowers, the hibiscus,

the azaleas, the bougainvilleas,

they all looked even brighter

when Wadley was happy.

They even seemed to thrive from it.

Girls who go to school see

immediate benefits

beyond the things they're learning.

Being a student enhances

their status in the community.

It improves their health.

It makes them safer.

But in the developing world,

getting an education is not

what people expect girls to do.

Girls are expected to work,

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