RCA 05 - WINDOWS OF HOPE: SUPPORT FOR YOUNG STUDENTS
Project Location
The project takes place in Bagandou, a city located in the municipality of Moboma, which belongs to the prefecture of Lobaye, and to the diocese of M'Baïki. Bagandou is 130 km far from the capital of the Central African Republic, Bangui. The inhabitants of Bagandou grow cassava tubers, peanuts, corn, yam, but not in large quantities because they practice subsistence farming only. During the rainy season it is not too difficult to rely on the crops grown on the fields, but during the dry season the population suffers lack of nutrition.
The region is isolated, in the middle of the forest, the roads and bridges are in a precarious state. Therefore it is always difficult to trade in local products. The youth would like to attend school, but these are few and their educational level is very low because of the lack of well-trained teachers; moreover, the salaries of teachers are not paid by the state, but by the families of the pupils.
This situation leads to overcrowded classrooms with 150-200 students per class and a teacher who has only one textbook; in this way the students do not learn and move on to the next classes with serious gaps; often they reach elementary school without knowing how to read or write. The most penalized are the girls. It is rare to find women who know how to read and write. Due to a lack of prospects and support, many girls immediately become single mothers, without knowing how to support their children.
In our diocese of Mbaiki, for some years now, in the Parish of St. Peter and Paul of Mbata, there has been a boarding school for girls, run by the Dominican Missionary Sisters of Africa. The academic level is good and the girls also learn other subjects that help them in their human and Christian formation.
Project description
This project aims to support the studies of twelve willing girls. In the boarding school, the girls will have the opportunity to attend a good level of school and, being free from the many household chores, they will be able to dedicate themselves fully to their studies (the study hours are set every day and the girls are supervised). In this way, the girls will be able to have good results and move on to the next classes.
During the Christmas and Easter holidays and the summer holidays, the girls return to their families, on this occasion we plan to hold remedial lessons to fill the gaps, especially in mathematics. By supporting certain girls that we know, who have the desire to study and the motivation, we aim to help the girls themselves, their families, the Church and society, to have prepared people tomorrow who can be leaders and inject Christian values into society.
Objectives
- To give these youth girls an opportunity to study, to support their families and to inspire them hope for a better future
- To reduce early pregnancies
- Educating girls to be leaders of the future
Local contribution
Families who have the means pay part of the school fees, transportation, sports uniform, clothes and shoes for their daughters. The poorest families are supported, completely or in part, by the project.
Beneficiaries
Direct: 12 girls
Indirect: their families and society
Referent sister for the project: Sr. Carla Curti
Project's costs