06-08-2026 | di COOPI

CAR. An integrated project for 32 schools and more than 18,000 children and adolescents

In a region deeply affected by years of instability and a severe humanitarian crisis, the right to education of thousands of children is at daily risk. To respond to this emergency, in July 2026 COOPI – Cooperazione Internazionale ETS launched a new two-year project funded by European Humanitarian Aid.

The project “Integrated emergency support to promote access to safe, inclusive and high-quality education for the most vulnerable girls and boys affected by the crisis in Bozoum, Central African Republic”, implemented in partnership with the local organisation Dynamique Communautaire pour le Développement (DCD), will reach nearly 18,000 children and adolescents in the sub-prefecture of Bozoum, in the Ouham-Pendé prefecture. Priority attention will be given to girls, internally displaced children, unaccompanied minors and young people with disabilities. The objective is to enable children and adolescents to learn in a safe and inclusive environment.

Quality education and child protection

The project will involve no fewer than 32 primary schools – 20 of which are newly identified schools and 12 of which have previously received support from COOPI – and will focus on the rehabilitation or construction of 60 classrooms in accordance with international safety and accessibility standards for students with disabilities. In addition, great attention will be paid to the quality of teaching: 80 community teachers will receive an intensive 35-day training course on inclusive pedagogy and psychosocial support.

Another central area of intervention is the direct protection of the most vulnerable children. Alongside the distribution of school kits and the activation of accelerated learning programmes for children outside the traditional education system, the project will establish 20 Child-Friendly Spaces and provide essential support: the regularisation of civil status. Through the support of local authorities, 2,000 children will receive their birth certificates, an essential document that allows them to sit State examinations and prevents them from remaining invisible.

A complex context for an ongoing commitment

All these activities take place in a highly vulnerable context, marked by more than a decade of instability, the presence of armed groups and recurring environmental crises. In the peripheral areas of Bozoum, most school facilities are in a state of serious deterioration and lack sanitation facilities, exposing children to the risks of exploitation, violence and dropping out of school.

With this project, COOPI intends to consolidate its commitment in Bozoum, which began in 2024, to ensure access to education for the most vulnerable children. A continuous journey alongside communities to make schools a place of protection, empowerment and hope.

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Present in the Central African Republic since 1974, COOPI adopts an integrated approach that combines humanitarian assistance and development, with particular attention to the protection of vulnerable populations, education, food security, access to water, hygiene, sanitation services and community resilience.