1,992 + 190 + 206 = 2,388 children in school
"There is no doubt
that education and training, culture and work are the decisive levers
for getting out of the hands of manipulation and enlistment in the armed
groups. It makes it possible to prevent conflicts and
preserve social peace. Today more than ever we encourage our young
people to stand up, taking their lives and their destiny into their own
hands"
These are the words of the Bishops of Central Africa, in their message published a few weeks ago.
Faced with a country deep in crisis, they too see that the only solution is education.
In
the recent weeks I have been visiting our schools in the villages, for
the delivery of report cards and the closing of the school year. The
number of children in our schools has increased again this year. There
are 1,992 of our 9 village schools, to which must be added the 190 of
the 6 nursery schools. There are also the two schools of Yoro and
Bayanga Didi, which belong to the state (and which we support with a
small monthly stipend to each teacher), with 206 students. At the
beginning of the year there were 391, but by the end they decreased
significantly (the blame lies on the rebel bands present in the area,
the fear of the parents, and the years spent without school).
The effort and work is enormous, and we do it willingly.
What
is sad is to observe how little attention and how little effort the
State devotes to schools. There are classes with as little as 2 or as
many as 300 children. There are schools without teachers. Most
discouraging there is huge corruption: in Baoro to obtain the BC (Brevet
des Collèges, an exam after the 4th year of middle school), you need to
pay 10,000 francs (about 15 euros). It is the teachers who organize
and get rich on this scam.
We started touring the villages for
the end of school last week. Saturday morning I was in the schools of
Bayanga Bode, Pate Bonambolo and Samba Bougoulou. Monday in Kouisso
Baguera and Dayanga, near Baoro.
On Monday morning we celebrated
the end of the year at the Mechanical School. The second year students
are done their courses (but in the next few weeks they will still be
studying to get their driving licence, with our driving school).
On
Saturday afternoon I went to Bayanga Didi and Yoro, for pastoral work,
but also to see the schools. Sunday morning I did 24 baptisms in Yoro. A
great party!
On Tuesday I went down to Bangui, for the meetings on the construction site of the new convent.
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| Dayanga |
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| Scuola Meccanica Ecole de Mécanique |
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| Battesimi a Yoro Baptemes à Yoro |
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