Securing a Future in the Central African Republic

With funding from ECW, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Plan International, UNICEF and UNHCR are delivering safe and protective learning opportunities.

By Education Cannot Wait

April 6^th, 2022

Originally published by Inter Press Service (Original). Author: Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

Bangui, Central African Republic, Mar 17 2022 (IPS) - Nine-year-old Marguerite Doumkel sits among other children in a classroom in Paoua, a sub-prefecture of Ouham Pende, in the Central African Republic (CAR).

With a smile on her face, she writes down the lesson for the day in her book. “I like to study history and French,” says Marguerite.

Education for children in communities such as Paoua has on several occasions been disrupted by military unrest and armed groups interventions leaving hundreds of children like Marguerite out of school for months.

“When there are soldiers, we don’t go to school. We stay at home. But I am happy I can continue my education now." ~ Marguerite tells IPS.

Students in CAR are happy to be in school. Photo Credit: Zigoto Tchaya Tchameni (Zigi) / CAR

Marguerite and thousands of other children are able to return to school to continue their education with the investments of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

Through its Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP), delivered by the Norwegian Refugee Council, Plan International, UNICEF and UNHCR, ECW is funding interventions that ensure access to education in safe, inclusive, and protective learning environments for displaced and returnee children in CAR.

ECW has been supporting communities in CAR for the past three years, reaching over 126,300 children.

Yasmine (Director, ECW) speaks to young girls. Photo Credit: Zigoto Tchaya Tchameni (Zigi) / CAR

“I had no school supplies at the beginning of the school year, but with the distribution of learning materials by UNICEF in our school, I have books and a slate to write on. I have learned to write correctly, and I play teacher at home with my sister.” ~ Marguerite tells IPS

Noemi Robiati, Education Manager at UNICEF CAR, says that ECW funds have also been essential to respond to a critical time of school closure and disruption of education at national scale caused by COVID- 19 as well as post-electoral security crisis.

Noemi continues to say that ECW’s support helped to scale up radio education, including by airing lessons on radio stations across the country and distributing radios with pre-registered lessons to households and schools. Education is a human right, and ECW funds have been critical to support such a fundamental right for the children of CAR.

Education specialist at the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Chanel Ntahuba says that with ECW funding, NRC provides education for out-of-school children.

“We have been able to support students in school. We also support students who are out-of-school through the Accelerated Learning Programme for over-aged children and catch-up programmes for children who have missed weeks or months of the school year due to the conflict.” ~ Chanel Ntahuba, Education Specialist at NRC

Happy students in the classroom. Photo Credit: Zigoto Tchaya Tchameni (Zigi) / CAR

Ntahuba tells IPS that the public budget allocated to education is low, representing 1.6% of GDP and 13.3% of public expenses in 2019. Therefore, communities hire teachers to ensure that their children go to school.

These teachers, he says, are not paid by the government but through the contribution of the population. But, in situations where families struggle to make ends meet, they can’t afford to pay the teachers regularly.

“This is why with ECW funding, we support the payment of the teachers who are supporting the Accelerated Learning Programme, Catch-up class as well as those in the youth class,” he adds.

Young boys pay attention to lessons in class. Photo Credit: Zigoto Tchaya Tchameni (Zigi) / CAR

Ntahuba further notes that the program supports the training of teachers to improve the quality of teaching.

“We train teachers on the content of the teaching, also on how to prepare and present their lessons,'' he indicates.

Justine Banguereya, a teacher at Paoua, says apart from the training she received, the money the programme offers to teachers has greatly impacted her livelihood. It also removes the financial burden from parents who do not have the means to pay for their children’s schooling.

Student shows off her writing slate. Photo Credit: Zigoto Tchaya Tchameni (Zigi) / CAR

“Many parents do not send their children to school as they prefer to have them working on household tasks, gardening and farming, hence depriving them of an education,” says Ntahuba. To help resolve this, ECW funds awareness campaigns to mobilize parents in sending their children to school.

Access high-resolution photos from this story and our full media library on ECW’s FLICKR

Footnotes

Original story by Jamila Akweley Okertchiri, Inter Press Service (IPS).

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FootNotes

Original story by Jamila Akweley Okertchiri, Inter Press Service (IPS).