You think education is expensive; Try ignorance.

I am one of those who have repented from the 'sin' of satisfaction with what I had formally learnt right up to university. One phrase changed my life ' when you stop learning you start dying' First out of fear of dying 'literally' lol and then a realization that education has no time nor age limit. Here is my story Growing up a girl, I am blessed to have been born into a family that though most of us were girls (just one boy ) never were we ever discriminated upon or made to feel there were somethings we were not entitled to. I never knew access to education could be impeded by either cultural,financial or other circumstances until I got to form five. After the demise of my Dad,my Mother God bless her, carried on the task of educating us all in prestigious schools just like my dad initiated. She did her best from form two till form five.

Being a form five student preparing for my GCE ordinary level examination we were expected to complete tuition and examination fees early. This time around my Mother was in financial crisis and could not meet up. I was sent away from the boarding school where I was and when I got home that night, I met my mother seriously sick at the point of death. To say I can explain how I felt would be a lie but I knew this was the end of my education. This planted in me a seed not only of gratitude for all I have been able to have but a consciousness of what happens to many in my community.Where children drop out of school so often. Before I just thought these are stubborn children but my little experience of financial lack made me realize there is more to it. Thank God the situation was resolved (story for another day) and I returned to school got my Ordinary, Advanced levels and university degree.

But I discovered a new found passion for the Internet! Way back in 2001 when very few had access and knew how to use the Internet, I spent my pocket money in cyber cafes searching for two things schools and courses abroad and scholarships. In this I began discovering a lot of things I never knew about, learning new words, new fields of study etc. The more I learnt these things the more I discovered I was abreast with the society and its evolution and a step ahead of many of my peers.

Though I had been using the Internet to keep learning and communicating, a new understanding set in when I joined world pulse. It was no longer about me learning for me sake but learning and sharing with others. My passion for helping others was fueled, the more i got to know about myself , the more i wanted to be of help to someone else.

I knew i had to inspire others to discover purpose and this is usually never discovered via formal education. Informal education is the best means of educating yourself in the things you love and aspire towards.

This is one of the reasons I joined the digital 101 training because I knew I had to understand better the tools I have at my disposal and how to utilize them to create change effectively.

World pulse is indeed a platform that is bridging the gap of access to informal education. When i read the story of the likes of Sister Zeph , Mama Shujaa project in the DRC and several others, i am the more convinced that in spite of the cultural and other vices we may face that can impede access to education. these free online resources are transforming lives in incredible ways.

With access to the internet today i have come to know amazing and phenomenal women like you all, we share a passion for change, we share our stories without fear of stigma and together we seek solutions and support across the world with just one click.

World Pulse has given us all access to education and opportunities and our communities are beneficiaries because of us all.Thank you World Pulse for the resources, the training and the connections you put at our disposal for free!

Though the cultural barriers and myths still exist with regards to the education of the girl child. We have other informal ways of educating like what we do on world pulse, visiting our communities to share skills we learnt during vacation, training young girls in information technology ,etc. These young girls when empowered will stand up for the change we seek themselves and with tangible proofs, they will fall off in time. i strongly believe it!

Recently a friend and professional coach of mine published a new book on Amazon and while helping her in the launch campaign , i kept asking her how will people in Africa and Cameroon gain access to that, knowing though not expensive the epayments andthe transportation are not very regular here.She later on informed me she had put up free ecopies for anyone who was willing to download and read. So many were excited to get their copies and that to me was very rewarding.

You can get a copy following this link:http://jillceleste.ontrapages.com/thatfirstclient.

Education to me is an ongoing process of learning, unlearning and learning again. Getting to know what you were made to live for is the ultimate education you can ever receive be it formally or informally!

So if you still think education is expensive by all means indulge the excuse of ignorance and see how much it will cost you!