Gabina Zavala Bonilla

Gabina is a fifty-three year old lady who recently lost her husband. Her children encouraged her to pursue her dream of education as a way of helping her cope with the loss. Her first schooling was stopped by her parents more than forty years ago when she was nine. Despite the length of time, she enrolled in the Grade Six Educatodos (an extension type education system to encourage village education, especially for adults) a year ago and completed the course.

Even though there are no other ladies her age in her village who have a Grade Six level education, she is bravely pioneering in the Grade Seven course here at Centro de Eseñanza Fraternidad. She said that she gets teased in a friendly way by her neighbours for going back to school at her age.

A dressmaker by profession, Gabina has the goal of finishing Grade 9 and then going to a dressmaker school so that she can, in turn become a teacher of dressmaking. Finally, Gabina has a chance to pursue a dream she has had for many years. She walks the ten minutes down the very steep hill to catch a Rapidito (small van) for the thirty minute ride to Santa Cruz. There she walks up to our school, studies for four and a half hours straight and then returns home, catching one of the last rapiditos before dark and walking back up the hill after dark.

Four of Gabina’s children are married but two others remain at home. Her dressmaking income is not quite enough to make ends meet so her children help her out. Her youngest daughter has studied up to Grade 12 equivalent and is an accountant. However, such jobs are not available in the village so she is working as a dressmaker alongside her mother. The youngest son is working as an agricultural worker.