This is 16-year-old Irine Chiptoo. She is a student at our Turkwel campus.  Her mother died when she was young and her father is an irresponsible drunk— so she was passed around between relatives— made to feel like an unwanted burden.  Her sister told her about Sunrise Sewing School and she came last summer to be part of our boarding program.  This past month, her relatives decided they want to marry her off as a third wife in exchange for some cows— a prearrangement that took place before she was sent home during this unexpected break.  The tribal wars and gunfire were getting too close to our school and forced us to close while we waited for peace to be negotiated.  During that break, the husband’s family kidnapped her and held her captive for three days during which she went on a hunger strike— as a result, they released her and said they would be back for her hoping she would accept this as her fate.  She returned to school last week and hasn’t stopped crying— and this is how we learned her story.  The relatives were outside our gate and making threats to kidnap her again.
Chief Africano, my champion of women’s education and empowerment was called today for an emergency meeting to declare our school as a safe sanctuary for her.  It is against the law to force girls into marriage— but it is hard to enforce in these remote places.  Her bravery in telling her story means that she loses everything except her self-will and determination to be educated.  This is why we are here in Turkwel. This is why we stay despite the complex issues surrounding the area.  Each one of these girls is precious and needs our support.

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