15-06-2023 | di COOPI

CAR. Adounis Sylvestre, peace-building teacher

In Bria, in the South-East of the Central African Republic, the school year has just ended and alongside his pupils, Sylvestre Adounis has also returned to the classroom. Adounis is a parent and teacher and thanks to COOPI he received basic pedagogical training to teach. For many years, there have always been many difficulties doing this job, but when we asked him why he chose to exercise this profession, he told us that it was his vocation:

I embraced this profession driven by a deep desire to impart and bring knowledge to young minds and uneducated women. In the past it seemed that we were abandoned to ourselves, but COOPI's project titled “Emergency Education response for vulnerable children affected by the Central African crisis in the town of Bria” gives me great satisfaction and we teachers are now truly trained. I believe that God has destined us for this noble educational mission.

Thanks to funding from UNICEF, Sylvestre receives now a regular salary at the end of each month and has all the necessary equipment to carry out education. The project supports the teacher every year by providing him school and educational kits and distributing materials such as backpacks and hygiene kits to the students. In addition, awareness-raising campaigns and training sessions are organised for parents.

His dedication is demonstrated by the fact that every day Sylvestre walks for an hour to cover the three kilometres to the school where he works to demonstrate to his pupils the importance of coexistence and social cohesion. He tells us:

As the African common saying goes "peace has no price”. And as a teacher I believe I play a crucial role as a peace builder within the school activities.

Although peace agreements were signed at the beginning of 2019, the Central African Republic still remains a country marked by a long history of conflict, fomented by struggles over the exploitation of the rich minerals that the Central African territory conceals. Today, it is the second least developed country in the world and after the conflict in Ukraine, more than half of the population is dependent on humanitarian assistance. Especially in rural areas there is a lack of a solid education structure and often educated parents act as teachers. Since we started operations in the Central African Republic in 1974, COOPI has never left the country.