Lost education echoed around the world
4,000 miles away, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, COVID-19 also stopped 16-year-old Nelly* from going to school, and changed the course of her life.
“Since the coronavirus appeared, I’ve stopped going to school. I was in fifth grade. It was when I stopped going to school that I met with a boy of 20 years. It was only later that I realised I was pregnant.”
Nelly’s son was born in late 2020. They live with the baby’s father now, but Nelly still hopes to return to school one day, and dreams of reaching her goal and becoming a teacher.
“All my friends of my age are already married. They also want to go back to school. I want to go back to school to learn to read and write. I want to get a diploma to allow me to take care of my son and my brothers.”