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ChinAfrica
Education Warriors
Across Africa, Chinese NGOs and volunteers help bring quality education to local children
By Ge Lijun | VOL.11 November ·2019-10-29

Students have access to laptops in a Hope Primary School in Tanzania (CYDF)

In the library of Kibii Primary School, located around 42 km east of Kenya's capital Nairobi, school children are all smiles - and with good reason. They just got their hands on a batch of brand new books. These are a perfect addition to the school's new building, which opened just five years ago. The books and the school building have something in common: They were donated as part of a Chinese assistance project.

The China-Africa Project Hope is a joint initiative of Chinese business accelerator platform TOJOY and the NGO Chinese Youth Development Foundation (CYDF), launched in 2011. The international aid project aims to help some of Africa's poorest rural areas to improve their schooling environment by building schools, donating educational materials and sending volunteers to work on the ground.

"The partnership between China and Africa is based on the willingness to improve people's livelihoods. As such, education is the most sustainable way to reduce poverty," said Xu Zhibing, an executive at CYDF.

Destination Africa

Project Hope has a history of 30 years in China, where it assists students from impoverished families and supports the construction of schools in the country's

poverty-stricken and isolated areas. However, CYDF had to work a lot harder to launch and carry out similar projects far from home, on the African continent.

Starting from early 2011, CYDF conducted field visits in Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and some other African countries during several months. The foundation's officials contacted local authorities, companies and schools in the selected countries, in addition to building bridges with Chinese embassies there.

Finally, on March 9, 2011, representatives from CYDF, donors and Tanzanian Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the first Hope Primary School in Tanzania.

According to CYDF, as of August 2015, Project Hope had received more than 40 million yuan ($5.6 million) in donations from Chinese companies. This has enabled it to build 23 primary schools in Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Namibia, serving tens of thousands of local students. The project also provided the schools with solar-powered lighting, power supply and rainwater harvesting systems.

Moreover, Project Hope now goes beyond the mere construction of buildings. In March 2017, the project expanded its activities to include the donation of textbooks and other learning materials. In Kenyan schools, on average, the current ratio is one textbook for three students, according to local government.

"Such shortage is due to a lack of resources and the high cost of textbooks, making it difficult to replace old and worn-out books," Habat Sheikh Abdi, Director of Basic Education at Kenya's Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, told China Daily Africa. Abdi believes that Project Hope will make a significant contribution to improving educational infrastructure and raising literacy levels in Kenya, especially in low-income neighborhoods where parents are struggling to provide for the needs of their children.

So far, CYDF has established 10 schools in Kenya, donating 5,340 books and some bookshelves to each of them.

The Kibii Primary School has about 400 students, most of whom live in the slums near the school. "Parents are very happy to see that their children are studying here," said Michael Ngugi, one of the school's principals.

A Hope Primary School in Burundi (CYDF)

Working harder

Mathare is the second-largest slum in Nairobi, with nearly 700,000 inhabitants living in an area of only 3 square km. Located in the very heart of Mathare is the Chang Rong Light Center, a school that had long suffered from a shortage of teachers.

However, after being rebuilt in August 2014 by a group of young Chinese volunteers, the school underwent a comprehensive transformation: It became an oasis for disadvantaged children seeking better education and emotional comfort.

Yin Binbin, a Chinese volunteer who initiated the reconstruction project, said he was upset by the difficult conditions he witnessed during his first visit to the school. He immediately launched an online donation campaign. Together with other Chinese volunteers, they hired local workers and rebuilt the school in just over 30 days.

According to David Matinde, Principal of the school, people are now overwhelmed by the school's growing popularity. "Since it was rebuilt, enrollment in our school has increased greatly. We have recruited highly qualified teachers who are impressed by our modern facilities," he told Xinhua News Agency.

Matinde, 41, used to work in an elite school, where he enjoyed a high salary. Eleven years ago, he resigned and came to work in the school in Mathare, which at that time had only one class, 50 students and two teachers. During the first two years, he received only a meager salary. He even had to sell his house in Nairobi and move his family to a neighborhood nearer to the slum. Despite all of these difficulties, Matinde refused to give up.

"I am certain that education will be able to change the fate of these children," he said. Ten years later, the changes are striking: The school now has seven classrooms and seven teachers, and serves more than 300 students.

"Chinese NGOs are actively carrying out social aid projects in Africa to help local populations solve their problems, which has positively helped strengthen friendship between the two peoples, promote cultural exchanges and develop bilateral relations," said Xin Shunkang, Former Chinese Ambassador to Namibia, at the inauguration ceremony of a Hope Primary School in the country in 2015.

Located in the Omaheke Region of east Namibia, this Hope Primary School was built by a Chinese company. Before the school was built, students had to walk more than 10 km to access the nearest school. Covering approximately 1,500 square meters, it has 13 classrooms, an office, a multipurpose hall and a sports field. It can accommodate nearly 600 local students.

(Comments to glj@chinafrica.cn)

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