Thirteen-year-old Francine is just one of the 14,000 children who benefited the NRC’s education programming in South Kivu’s southeastern Fizi territory. Everyday Francine attends Asifiwe Primary School in Kanada village in her crisp white shirt and navy blue skirt. During one of the armed attacks, militiamen killed her father. Since then, no one has been able to afford to pay for her education. She was expelled from school due to non-payment of school fees and eventually had to drop out for a year. “My mother had no money to pay for school,” she says. “I had to stop going to school and help her farm the field.” In early 2019, she attended the NRC’s catch-up class where she developed her French language skills, math and other subjects. She also received notebooks, pens, a ruler and pencils from the program. Now Francine can read and write in basic French. 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
DR KONGO

Tilbake på skolebenken

I hvit skjorte og marineblått skjørt går tretten år gamle Francine stolt til skolen i Kananda. Hun er ett av 14.000 barn som deltar i Flyktninghjelpens skoleprogram i provinsen Sør-Kivu i Den demokratiske republikken Kongo.

I 2018 angrep væpnede menn landsbyen til Francine og drepte faren hennes. Francine og moren flyktet og klarte å komme seg i sikkerhet. Senere vendte de tilbake til landsbyen. Men ettersom moren ikke var i stand til å betale skolepenger, måtte Francine slutte på skolen.

Visste du at for 250 kroner kan du gi ett sett med skolebøker og sikre utdanning til ett barn på flukt.

– Moren min hadde ingen penger å betale for skolegangen min, forteller Francine. – Så jeg måtte slutte på skolen og hjelpe henne på gården.

Deler ut skolebøker

Men våren 2019 begynte Francine på Flyktninghjelpens skoleprogram, hvor hun fikk anledning til å ta igjen det tapte skoleåret. I tillegg fikk hun utdelt bøker og skrivesaker.

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
Skolen til Francine er én av 32 skoler Flyktninghjelpen har reparert i Sør-Kivu. Så langt har Flyktninghjelpen sørget for at over 14.000 barn har fått muligheten til å fortsette skolegangen i Sør-Kivu.

Bygger klasserom

Kamphandlingene hadde også ført til at takene på skole var fulle av kulehull, og når det regnet ble klasserommene fylt av vann. Flyktninghjelpen har derfor reparert taket, satt inn vinduskarmer og dører og bygget nye toaletter.

Skolen til Francine er én av 32 skoler Flyktninghjelpen har reparert i Sør-Kivu.  Så langt har Flyktninghjelpen sørget for at over 14.000 barn har fått muligheten til å fortsette skolegangen i Sør-Kivu.

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