With the start of a new school year, we have a slew of potential new students applying to join our elementary school in Djicofè. The sign-ups opened on the 21st of September and all of the 6 elementary school classes have been filled completely.
Most of these kids come from struggling or absent families and require a special kind of care. This is why every year, for the last 10 years, we’ve unfortunately had to deal with the same situation. A line of parents desperate to have their children join our school forms in the early hours of the morning. Our capacity is 50 students, plus another 30 children in desperate need, taken in from within the local religious community. This year we received 165 inquiries. Sadly, at the end of the day this left 115 children without a place in our school. As much as we empathize with the parents of the children left without a spot, we must respect our capacity limits for the good of everyone.
We’d like to further draw attention to the 30 social cases our school takes in yearly. The numerical preference is given to girls, as most African families traditionally prefer sending their male children to school. However, it’s the women who will manage the children and their hygiene education in the future, and it also contributes to their autonomy. The school year starts on the 1st of October, and we hope it’ll be a calm school year. We will do everything we can to make it so.
