Educate The Future Of Congo Foundation

Education, the Future of Congo
By Chance Gatoro
Miss Congo USA 2014


The Problem
Congo is a difficult country for children to grow up in. It is the second poorest country in the world and more than half of the adult population has never attended school or only completed Primary School. There are 35 million children under the age of 18 in the country. There is a 97% rate of children that don't have access to pre-school education.
In 2010 a law was passed. It is Article 43 [of the Constitution] and it declares "Primary Education is obligatory and free in public schools." It states "Parents should not pay teachers since they are civil servants." The Constitution is the supreme law of the nation. Nobody should abuse it. Even though the country's Constitution states that Primary Education should be free, it is common for schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to ask parents to pay extra money which is used to supplement teachers' salaries as well as to contribute towards the operating costs of the school. The United Nations reports that one of the main reasons why children, especially girls, do not go to or stay in school is that the family has to pay for educational supplies such as pens, slates, notebooks, crayons, etc. Even after parents pay those fees they find themselves unable to afford textbooks, school uniforms, school meals and other school supplies needed for the students. There are also hidden fees to help with science labs and sports equipment. The real cash cost of schooling for parents turns out to be quite high. The pressure of assuming these financial burdens while losing a potential helping hand at home or another household income often proves to be more than poor families can bear. Children are losing interest in school by the minute. Some students have no motivation to be in school whatsoever and would rather be out playing games and running the streets.
Many of the public schools in existence are in deplorable conditions with no blackboards in many of them and in some schools children sit on the floor due to lack of desks. These conditions are bad enough, but the most worrying concern is encroachment on school land by individuals, many of whom are connected politically. One can find a pharmacy, restaurant or even a bar right in the middle of a school compound. It looks like all open spaces in schools are up for grabs.


Why should we help?
Quoting the All-Powerful and Memorable Nelson Mandela, "EDUCATION is the MOST POWERFUL WEAPON you can use to change the world." Children who have not studied as they grow up do not know what to do with their lives. Many grow up with hatred and they avenge themselves upon those that have been more successful in life. A lack of education creates miserable people who live in poverty and turn to crime in order to survive. It is important to educate not only the man but also the woman, keeping in mind that lack of education is a contributing factor to sustained poverty, HIV/AIDS, prostitution, and all other ills. If we help get these youth educated we can help put a stop to these dreadful affairs.


Solution
Considering how many students in Congo are out of school it isn't realistic to think that we can put each and every one of them back in school. I believe it is more realistic to start small by helping students in a small city of Congo called Goma. I am choosing Goma because that is my hometown where I grew up. Goma is also the target of war, criminal acts and rape. The majority of people in Goma are teens. More than half of these teens are not in school. By putting these teens in a situation where they can receive education by getting them excited about learning we could hopefully help decrease the amount of woman being raped, the amount of crimes happening, and the amount of unemployment in the future. This would help build a smarter and stronger Congo. It would also help to attain our own future doctors, lawyers, nurses, and other professionals. By educating our own people in schools now we will have less illness and a stronger government in the future.

Plan of action
Parents are struggling to keep their children in school even with Primary School supposedly being free because they cannot afford to pay for additional school supplies. I would like to send school supplies to public schools in Goma. By making the burden lighter for parents I believe we can improve the amount of children attending school. I also think that by providing more athletic and art programs in the schools we would also help improve the number of students wanting to attend. There are more than 100 students in one classroom in a public school in Congo. My goal this year is to send enough school supplies to support one public school. I would also work to find volunteered athletes in the U.S. who are willing to go to Congo and teach students how to play sports and help get them involved in extracurricular activities.

This could be done by holding fundraisers, gathering school materials from different departments willing to donate to this great cause, and gathering students at my University to work with me to raise more money. This goal can be achieved through Social Media and student connections. I want to raise awareness for my cause, get more people involved and get help to send school supplies to Goma. Besides advertising, we can also hold Talent shows, Fashion Shows and Banquets that will raise money for these supplies to help struggling schools and families.
Please join me as we help this cause, Education, the Future of Congo. Like the Great Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."