Education

Little girl in schoolThe CEUM operates 423 schools, including primary, secondary, and several preschools. They too sustained great losses during the war. Buildings were looted and damaged, wooden benches were broken up and used for firewood, teachers were left without books. Until recently, students at some schools spent half of the school day working on repairing the school building and the other half in learning.
 
While we welcome partners interested in any aspect of the educational system, our strategy currently emphasizes equipping teachers and equipping schools.

Equipping Teachers

The greatest strength of these schools is the teachers. Many continued working through the war, in the most difficult circumstances, often without pay. Some received garden produce for their service, or students worked in a teacher's garden in exchange for being taught.
 
Our priority right now is to equip teachers with the books they need to teach the children. The curriculum is standardized across Congo, but the books are not provided free of charge. (The children, for the most part, use notebooks rather than textbooks.) Fundamental to  equipping teachers is making sure they have the books they need.

Equipping Schools

The physical condition of the schools in the CEUM system ranges from cinder block buildings with metal roofs to buildings of bamboo and grasses with thatched roofs. Our first priority in re-equipping these schools is to replace the blackboards and student benches that were broken up and burned during the war. There is also a constant need for school supplies for the 80,000 children in the system.
 
Approximately 20% of the school buildings have no roofs at all. With the help of key donors, we have put metal roofs on 8 school buildings in the Ubangi region, with others in process. We welcome partners who can finance the construction of roofs and schools where needed.

 

Where we work  |  How we work  |  Health  |  Education  |  Economic development