by Billy McClung
I’m sitting here this afternoon looking through Facebook, appreciating the clever, fun and innovative ways that teachers
in Scotland (and other parts of the UK) are using to bring education to the homes of those pupils who are unable to go to school during this coronavirus pandemic.
This led me to consider the impact of lockdown on the many teachers and pupils in the North Kivu area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A number of schools have been developed and upgraded by our partners in DR Congo, Comfort Congo, to provide education for the children of refugees, displaced pygmies, rape survivors, and other vulnerable and extremely poor people in the area. In addition, Comfort Congo has recently agreed to the oversight of a further 120 primary and secondary schools. Most of them function with very limited resources as well as class sizes of as many as 100 children. The government does not have the resources to build or run the schools and the children’s families have no money to pay school fees. Most of the teachers themselves are displaced and live in the camps or under tarpaulin and many have worked without pay because of their commitment to the children. The schools are raising a new generation of Congolese children who otherwise would be without education. These teachers are changing the future. We would love to support them.
In the words of Jean who is a teacher at Walugaba Primary School:
“I became a teacher to help vulnerable children have access to education. I want my pupils to improve their skills and knowledge and hopefully they will become the future leaders of this country.”
If you think you can help, please let us know.