Wisdom Project winners

10-15 year-old category winner: Angela Andia, 12 (pictured above right)

16-24 year-old category winner: Otuki Akoya, 19

My grandmother's childhood experience
Grandmother was bubbling with ecstasy ready to start her childhood story. She was now in her late 80s but her petite body made her look much younger. Surprisingly, she seemed to recall every detail when she was young, leaving no stone unturned. With her soft-spoken voice she said, "I had one garment that I used to wear. It was an oversized green dress with an African motif across the front. Despite me wearing it daily, I disliked it with all my heart. The situation of some children regarding their attires was similar to mine while others was worse since they wore nothing at all. Besides this, I was kept in the dark concerning my sexuality. It was a taboo for children to be taught on sexuality until a certain age bracket. I remember being scolded at by my father for raising a concern about some sudden changes in my body."

She shuffled to gain a comfortable sitting position and then smiled goofily at me before she continued. "Our interaction with the other gender was limited. Woe onto you if you were caught playing with boys of your age, a beating that would have you bedridden for a couple of days would be administered upon you without any relent. Furthermore, girls were being married off at tender ages. Personally, I was married of at age 15. The reason behind the early marriages was that fertility was higher at tender ages than at mid ages. We were also subjected to cultural rituals that deteriorated our psychology. Boys were tattooed various marks on their bodies while girls were subjected to large piercings on their earlobes."

Subconsciously, I glimpsed at both of her earlobes and ascertained that what she was saying was true since she had conspicuous piercings on both of them.
"Our opinions never mattered since we were never consulted on anything, even on matters to do with our own welfare. This is evidenced when we were forced to take after the roles played by the deceased before their demise. I was trained as a midwifery despite having no interest on matters to do with maternity. Moreover, formal education was not a priority to children. It was considered as a waste of time. Nevertheless, my foes were not bothered by having their children educated and that is how I happened to be the only girl in our classroom."

She sighed while looking at the slabs of cement before talking. "It was very unfortunate that I had to drop out of school. It was one fateful day while in school when I got my first period. I was disturbed by this because never had I seen such a thing. I became the laughingstock in our classroom and was given a moniker by the boys. I was very embarrassed by this and decided to halt school since my self-esteem had been shuttered."

I heard her sniff as she fought back tears that were prompting to fall from her watery eyes. I had to admit wholly that her story was emotional. After a long pause, she continued, "my mother was my hero. The day I had my first period, she warmly embraced me and assured me everything will be alright. Furthermore, she gave me some herbs that made my situation much better."

She coughed dryly and smacked her lips after taking a sip of her juice. "People born on these recent ages have an edge over us. You have all set of opportunities knocking on your doors. All information needed is available on the internet and in hard copy books. You have all kind of clothes that are worn depending on the weather conditions. Girls are provided with sanitary towels which enhances their comfort. The voices of children are heard and even the government has made children rights crystal clear to the public. Formal education has been made a secondary right for all children. Utilize the resources that you have in order to come up with more innovations and inventions that will better your lives." That was her conclusion before she dozed off.