Proud to go back to school

In her smart white shirt and blue skirt, 13-year-old Francine walks proudly to her school in Kananda village. She is one of 14,000 children to benefit from the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) education programmes in South Kivu province, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 2018, armed men attacked Francine's village and killed her father. Francine and her mother fled and managed to get to safety. Later, they returned to the village. But since her mother was unable to pay school fees, Francine had to quit school.

“My mother had no money to pay for my schooling,” Francine explains. “So I had to quit school and help her in the fields.”

Helping children to catch up

But in the spring of 2019, Francine joined NRC’s education programme, where she was given the opportunity to catch up on her lost school year. She also received school books and stationery.

It is 10: 30 am, the recreation time at Kananda primary school in Fizi territory. It is raining, cloudy and cold but the rain cannot stop students and teachers to rejoice: singing and dancing as part of their recreation time.

Kananda Primary School is just one of 32 schools rehabilitated by NRC in South Kivu province. Due to roof damage from bullets, when it rained, students would have to suspend classes, as the inside of their classrooms would begin to flood. In addition, the sanitation infrastructure in the school and throughout the village was dilapidated or non-existent. Students were risking both their safety and health by using the crudely constructed latrines. Being that the latrines were uncovered, students were vulnerable to infections and water-borne diseases.

With Education Cannot Wait donor support, NRC has patched the damaged roof to ensure that classrooms, students and materials remain dry when it rains. Metallic doors and window frames were provided, and the school was repainted. Latrines were rebuilt and covered for conditions that are more sanitary. The learning environment has greatly improved and the number of enrolled students has increased from 240 students in 2018 to 340 students in April 2019.

To implement the Education Cannot Wait-funded project, NRC has collaborated with Danish Church Aid (DCA) and two national NGOs, Collectif ALPHA UJUVI and Caritas to rebuild destroyed schools, restore proper sanitation and water points in schools. NRC has provided notebooks, pens, pencils and other school materials to children and has trained teachers on psychosocial support. In addition, we paid the final examination fees for students in sixth grade and trained teachers on psychosocial support, Risk Reduction Plans and Training of Parent-Teacher Associations on Good Governance in Schools.
In total, NRC education support has reached 14,000 of children whom the majority are displaced, returnee and destitute children from the community in South Kivu province.

This assistance, however, is only a drop in the ocean, seen the huge needs which are still uncovered in the province and the country. We need further efforts in term of funding so that we continue rebuilding destroyed schools; organise catch-up classes to help many children out of school to get access to quality education in a safe and protected environment.

April 26, 2019
Photo: Ephrem Chiruza/NRC — Students celebrate the rebuilding of their school in Kananda village, South Kivu province. Francine's school is one of 32 schools that NRC has renovated in South Kivu. Photo: Ephrem Chiruza/NRC

Rebuilding classrooms

Francine’s primary school in Kananda village was one of a number damaged by recent violence in DR Congo.

The roof was full of bullet holes, and the classrooms flooded when it rained. In addition, the sanitation system was in desperate need of upgrading. Students risked their health every time they used the crudely constructed, uncovered latrines.

NRC became aware of the situation and worked with the community to rebuild the school. We repaired the roof, installed new windows and doors and built new toilets. As a result, the learning environment has greatly improved, and the number of students has increased from 240 to 340 in the space of a year.

Kananda Primary School is just one of 32 schools renovated by NRC in South Kivu. To date, we have ensured that more than 14,000 children have been given the opportunity to continue their education in the province.