The story of school children in CAR

UNICEF and NGO Cooperazione Internazionale bring children back to school in the Central African Republic (CAR)

School children in CAR  [Photo: UNICEF CAR]

27 May 2008: Violent conflict in the Paoua area of CAR resulted in the displacement of thousands of people. CERF funding allowed UNICEF and partner NGO COOPI (Cooperazione Internazionale) to bring 67,000 children back to school in Paoua. Emergency funding permitted the establishment of bush schools for displaced people in the Paoua area, the rehabilitation of schools in villages, the distribution of education materials, and the training of parent-teachers. Overall, 104 schools were supported, 34 of them in the bush. Twenty-eight teachers were trained and in turn trained 301 parent-teachers. In Paoua town, COOPI rehabilitated a school building, equipping the two class rooms with tables and benches.

UNICEF hopes to extend its programme, establish more permanent schools, and promote a far-reaching ‘Back-to-School Programme’. For the moment, however, the bush schools provide both schooling and a sense of normalcy for some of the country’s most vulnerable children.

 

Click here to read more about CERF in CAR 2008

[Last Update: 26 June 2008]

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