There are more than 1500 school age children at Nyabiheke Camp, between the ages of 6 and 16. The school year in Rwanda begins in January and we had all hoped that there would be a school in the camp in time to start the year. But bureaucratic delays have intervened, and the children are still waiting.
And so with the support and encouragement of our Camp Manager, the refugees have taken matters into their own hands, the teachers among them organizing and teaching classes for all of the school-aged children. Thirty classes with 50 students each meet every day under the pine trees on a hill in the camp using supplies provided by UNICEF. We stopped briefly on our drive down the hill to greet the students, and they in turn greeted us with singing.
The importance of this informal schooling cannot be overstated. In addition to learning, the children have adult supervision for much of the day. The refugee teachers have a purpose when they get up in the morning. Other refugees and our Camp Manager have organized after school activities such as soccer and scouting. The whole feel of the camp is different without the large gangs of idle kids that I saw here last summer when the camp was brand new.
Even on this remote and rocky hillside in Rwanda, help comes to those who help themselves.
2 comments:
So wonderful that the kids are in school - thanks for keeping us all updated Louise!!! Ann
Hi Louise. This is beautiful. I can't imagine a nicer place to sit and learn than under these pine trees on the hill. I'm so enthralled with your posts and thank you for sharing your experience there with everyone. I hope this is just a smattering of your journal and that one day you'll publish it all.
--kje
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