30-07-2023 | di COOPI

Central African Republic. Reading and writing is a starting point

 

When people were applying to participate in the course, I applied too and when I took the exam I passed ... for this I am really very grateful to the NGOs that supported us!"

These are the words of a girl who attended the literacy courses promoted by COOPI and the local NGO URU as part of the project "Youth, Hope of the Central African Republic: Masséka békou ti Bé-Afrika" thanks to the EU funded Bekou Fund. Started in July 2021, the project will end in January 2024 and is involving the territories of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, its periphery and the Center and North of the country.

Now that we have obtained the certificate, it is necessary not to stop here, we hope there will be other courses to train us in more specific areas".

another girl said at the ceremony of awarding certificates to 64 students, including 58 women. Displaced, against a backdrop of ethnic and community tensions, often without family support, young Central Africans have suffered from hunger and sometimes skipped entire school cycles, often finding themselves victims of the violence that has affected the Country in recent years.

Flore Florence Fali, Director General of Youth, congratulated particularly the women who had obtained the certificate, on behalf of the Minister of Youth, Sports and Education. The aim of the government and its national youth promotion policy is indeed to equip young people with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to become responsible citizens, actors for peace, and to contribute to the economic development of the country, characterized in recent years by great instability and a deterioration of the social fabric. She then recalled:

Despite the difficulties encountered, the young men and women who have taken part have shown self-sacrifice and seriousness during their training. It is important not only that they make good use of their certificates, but also that we document their achievements".

Finally, Florence thanked the European Union, which, she said, had supported the government not only in reducing the vulnerability of adolescents, but also in building their capacities. Ulrich Vianey Bounengue, coordinator of the Maison de la Jeunesse in the 4th arrondissement, reminded us that literacy training for young Central Africans is part of a strategy aimed at consolidating peace, security, national reconciliation and social cohesion, reducing social conflicts between the State and young people, and reactivating the productive sector.

COOPI is participating in the project by supporting the reopening of Youth Centers and organizing literacy and IT courses. Present at the inauguration alongside Esther Alida Yakota, Project Manager for URU, Manuela Magnanelli, Project Manager for COOPI, addressed Central African youth with hope:

The literacy course is a pillar of this project, it has already been carried out in 17 Maisons de Jeunes and we will soon be doing it in the last Maison. We really hope that this certificate will be a starting point for you, the male and female students, to obtain other certificates".

COOPI has been present in the Central African Republic since 1974, working on governance and human rights, among other things. During 2022, it reached 8,049 young people, including 4,293 girls and 3,756 boys, through workshops and awareness-raising conferences on topics such as peaceful conflict resolution, the consequences of drug and narcotics use, environmental protection, citizenship and positive leadership.