Maybeline
“A path of hope”
For more than 3 years Meybelin Melissa walked 40 minutes from her home in the El Escalón hamlet to her school in the El Tempisque hamlet in Santa Catarina Masahuat in the department of Sonsonate in El Salvador. Melissa is an 18-year-old teenager who crossed rural streets and sidewalks throughout her education. Long walks were not the only obstacles for Meybelin. Unfortunately, the teenager was about to abandon her studies. Since 2021, after her mother died, she took on the maternal role to take care of her two younger siblings: Rudy and Alice. This attribution caused the studies to take a backseat. RED provided support with psychosocial care and thanks to Meybelin's tenacity and courage, he was prevented from dropping out of school.
Even though she crossed this path daily, the Friday of November 15 felt more special. That date was memorable for Meybelin. That day she graduated from ninth grade. The day started early, Meybelin woke up at the usual time: 5:30 AM. She bathed and changed for the occasion: a long blue dress adorned with sequin embroidery. Her cousin was the one who helped her with her hair and makeup. Already prepared, at 7:45 AM she took the same paths and paths that she traveled during her three years of second cycle. ¨In my mind and to my cousins I commented that, to know, when we were going to walk through those directions again. I'm going to miss the walks, and the landscapes, they were beautiful. Sometimes we and my cousins heard the song of the Chachas (a bird native to El Salvador),” the teenager recalls.
The clock read 8:25 AM on that special day and Meybelin finally arrived at school. The event was going to be chaired by school authorities. In Salvadoran schools it is customary to liven up graduations with the presentation of the graduates and later a promotion dance. Don Eulalio (her grandfather) would be Meybelin's honorary companion. ¨ I felt happy, and at the same time a little nervous. On the one hand, I felt happy, because I thought I was not going to accomplish this achievement: graduating from ninth grade. And I was nervous because I thought that maybe the dance wasn't going to go well, that's why," she admitted.
The first point of the event program was the singing of the national anthem. Then, the delivery of diplomas that accredit them to attend the first year of high school. Meybelin remembers her ninth grade year as a year where she learned many things. She is a lover of natural sciences and assures that she really likes plants. The teenager is very clear about the role of education: “I see studying as an opportunity for different things, more for a job, to learn more about things. "Sometimes they want to trick you just because you can't read or write or because you can't know places," he explained.
Finally, Meybelin Melissa's name is announced over the megaphones. She gets up and walks. She takes her diploma with a big smile and poses for the photo. It's a very special day. The teenager concludes: “all those days I walked were worth it, because I managed to finish ninth grade and thank God I had the opportunity to finish the year.”
