You are going to become the champions of the Central African Republic. Hang on! The journey is about to begin.”
The four boys and two girls listening to Eric Mamboue’s pep talk in Bangui, the capital of a country condemned to decades of conflict by geography, misgovernance and malice, might be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed, but they do actually cherish big hopes and dreams, and know that staying in school is the first step to achieving them.
In a country brought to its knees by three years of inter-ethnic and religious violence, where communities still live apart, and where any loud metallic noise makes people jump and wonder if the killing has started again, these children know that education is not just a way out for them: it could also save their country.
“Without education, the problems will never end,” says Jean*, an eloquent 17-year-old who wears a beaded purse embroidered with Bible verses around his neck.
“The wise share their knowledge. People who are not wise try to destroy things. If we are not educated, things will go badly. If we are educated, the leaders of the future will be able to defend the country.”
The children are all taking part in VoiceMore, a pilot project run by War Child to train young people to speak out about their rights. Mamboue is War Child’s country director in Central African Republic, and these children recently completed a six-day training course.
They all have firsthand knowledge of what it means to have your right to education snatched away.
In 2013, when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels pushed into this green city set on the wide Oubangui river, they ousted the president and committed atrocities against Christians, triggering the formation of mainly Christian and animist anti-balaka (machete) militias, who took bloody revenge on Muslim communities.
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