The Buhumba village school on Idjwi Island in the Democratic Republic of Congo is overcrowded, has inadequate facilities, and lacks basic teaching tools for the students. This project will improve the teaching facilities and educational opportunities for approximately 50 sixth grade students by providing new quality chalk boards for their class room.
Idjwi Island, located in Lake Kivu on the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has seen a dramatic increase in its population in recent years, much of which is the result of refugees fleeing violence in the DRC and Rwanda to its east. A substantial number of these new residents are children, including many orphans. The island lacks basic infrastructure, and the Buhumba village school has inadequate facilities for its students.
The new chalk boards will have an immediate impact because the sixth graders will be able to see their lessons and follow their instructors as they prepare for secondary school in their studies of grammar, history, geography, mathematics, drawing, and other subjects. The chalk boards will improve the quality at the existing school while the Idjwi Island Education Fund continues with the design process and fundraising for the new school.
An improved learning environment will equip these sixth graders with the knowledge and tools that they need to improve their own lives and that of their community. Each improvement in facilities and teaching tools at the school enhances the education and the prospects that students will qualify for enrollment at the selective secondary school on Idjwi Island.
