RESPECT International Blog

According to the UNHCR as of January 2009 Democratic Republic of the Congo has 155,162 refugees and 1,460,102 internally displaced persons(IDP) residing there.  Despite all the effort being poured into the peace process eastern DRC has continued to witness violent struggles and the north has seen little progress in the disarming the militias.   Violence, killings, abductions, unjust incarcerations and sexual violence continue to affect many areas of the country.

Camps containing refugees and IDPs have been attacked causing new displacement.   The conflict has destroyed much of the infrastructure of the country, cutting people off from aid and making rebuilding problematic.  There is a need to re-integrate the refugees and IDPs into society however with no way to earn a living people do not have access to the basics of shelter, food, medical care and education.

Some refugee schools exist  in DRC and RESPECT International is working with a number of them to bring free education to people who need to rediscover hope and confidence in their own futures.

For example, the Afrika/Makobola Refugee School.  This is a primary school with 160 students studying at three grade levels: elementary, middle and final.  The children who attend this school have nothing, no furniture, no books or supplies.  They work in a building made of uncooked bricks and straw.

One of the ways in which RESPECT is working with this refugee school is to involve the students in the Letter Exchange Program.  This enables non-refugee students and their teachers and families to learn about the lives of refugee children but it also encourages the refugee students to understand a life outside of their own country.  This helps them to work towards building a better future for themselves and their families and also improves their letter writing and literacy.

For more information on the Letter Exchange Program click here.

To find out about Afrika/Makobola and other refugee schools visit here.

For the RESPECT International main website, find us here.