Burundi: Displaced children are eager to learn
By Astrid Sehl, Burundi, Norwegian Refugee Council
They were forced to flee. Now, youngsters who have never previously attended school, learn how to read and write.
"I'd very much like to become a teacher my self, instead of working in the fields like my mother," says Iranezereza Elisantine, 14.
She's eagerly taking notes, sitting by her desk inside one of the classrooms built by NRC in Burundi. What differs this school from ordinary schools, is that most pupils used to be internally displaced or refugees from the Burundian civil war. Despite a marked improvement in the security situation in Burundi in recent years, some 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) remain in settlements throughout the country, in addition to an unknown number living with host families.
While Iranezereza became internally displaced due to the civil war, class mate Habonimana Judith, 15, fled along with her family to neighboring country Tanzania. For three years, she lived in a refugee camp having no access to school. By attending NRC's Teacher Emergency Package (TEP) project, she quickly catches up with the curriculum used by her peers. Most of all, she enjoys learning new languages, a skill which is useful in a country rich in languages like Burundi.
"My favorite subject is Kirundi, but I also enjoy learning French," Habonimana says.
The NRC TEP project in Burundi offers 10 months' intensive and accelerated education to IDP, returnees and vulnerable children aged between 9 and 14 who have not had access to schooling. When the children finally get the opportunity to attend school, they face new challenges like hunger and the need to provide income to their families.
"Drop out rates are rocket high in Burundi. While 1.3 million children are enrolled in primary schools, only 180,000 are attending secondary school," NRC Country Director Sophie Cazade explains.
NRC does not only build schools and work with local communities in order to enhance enrolment and prevent drop outs. Training of teachers is a key component in the TEP program. In a brick house in capital Bujumbura, a room is filled with teachers with a challenging objective: To adjust their teaching skills to embrace children who have been forced to flee and to encourage poor parents to give priority to education for their children.
"These children face several problems in addition to their background as refugees. They arrive at school with an empty stomach, some lack clothes, a proper home, they're poor, don't have many friends and so on. But still, they are incredibly eager to learn," says teacher Languide Nahimana, 31, whom herself fled Burundi when she was 17.
Whenever the teachers find an empty seat in the class room, it's usually because the youngsters are sent off to work. That way, they can bring in USD 5 to the household per month if lucky, sometimes it takes two.
"My pupils are so hungry. I wish I could buy food to them all," says teacher Pelagie Ndayikengurukiye, 23.
She continues: "We always try to encourage their parents to keep their children in school, instead of sending them off to work. In a short-term perspective, they'll make more money by starting working at an earlier age. But we all know that without education, there will be no proper jobs in sight in the future."
FACTS:
They were forced to flee. Now, youngsters who have never previously attended school, learn how to read and write.
 Iranezereza Elisantine, 14, and Habonimana Judith, 15 attend NRC TEP-school in Burundi. Photo: NRC |
She's eagerly taking notes, sitting by her desk inside one of the classrooms built by NRC in Burundi. What differs this school from ordinary schools, is that most pupils used to be internally displaced or refugees from the Burundian civil war. Despite a marked improvement in the security situation in Burundi in recent years, some 100,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) remain in settlements throughout the country, in addition to an unknown number living with host families.
While Iranezereza became internally displaced due to the civil war, class mate Habonimana Judith, 15, fled along with her family to neighboring country Tanzania. For three years, she lived in a refugee camp having no access to school. By attending NRC's Teacher Emergency Package (TEP) project, she quickly catches up with the curriculum used by her peers. Most of all, she enjoys learning new languages, a skill which is useful in a country rich in languages like Burundi.
"My favorite subject is Kirundi, but I also enjoy learning French," Habonimana says.
The NRC TEP project in Burundi offers 10 months' intensive and accelerated education to IDP, returnees and vulnerable children aged between 9 and 14 who have not had access to schooling. When the children finally get the opportunity to attend school, they face new challenges like hunger and the need to provide income to their families.
"Drop out rates are rocket high in Burundi. While 1.3 million children are enrolled in primary schools, only 180,000 are attending secondary school," NRC Country Director Sophie Cazade explains.
NRC does not only build schools and work with local communities in order to enhance enrolment and prevent drop outs. Training of teachers is a key component in the TEP program. In a brick house in capital Bujumbura, a room is filled with teachers with a challenging objective: To adjust their teaching skills to embrace children who have been forced to flee and to encourage poor parents to give priority to education for their children.
"These children face several problems in addition to their background as refugees. They arrive at school with an empty stomach, some lack clothes, a proper home, they're poor, don't have many friends and so on. But still, they are incredibly eager to learn," says teacher Languide Nahimana, 31, whom herself fled Burundi when she was 17.
Whenever the teachers find an empty seat in the class room, it's usually because the youngsters are sent off to work. That way, they can bring in USD 5 to the household per month if lucky, sometimes it takes two.
"My pupils are so hungry. I wish I could buy food to them all," says teacher Pelagie Ndayikengurukiye, 23.
She continues: "We always try to encourage their parents to keep their children in school, instead of sending them off to work. In a short-term perspective, they'll make more money by starting working at an earlier age. But we all know that without education, there will be no proper jobs in sight in the future."
FACTS:
- The NRC TEP project in Burundi offers 10 months' intensive and accelerated education to IDP, returnees and vulnerable children aged between 9 and 14 who have not had access to schooling.
- Since 1999 the project has been implemented in 9 provinces.
- 56 700 children and youth have been enrolled from 2000 to 2007
- 11 400 pupils are enrolled in 2008.
To learn more about the work of the Norwegian Refugee Council, visit their website.
