Walking towards a better future. Narcisse’s dream of peace
In this day of the African Child, let us hear from Narcisse, who faces many hardships, but endeavour sto change things for the better
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Every day, soon before the sunrise, Narcisse Yaouesse, 13, wakes up at his uncle’s house, in Bouzoukoum, a remote village in the Central African Republic. He hurriedly helps his sister Flora get ready, and once both have put on their uniforms and collected their exercise books and pens, they walk the 10-kilometre road to their school, in the town of Bozoum.
What about breakfast? “Sometimes we eat it when our uncle can afford some milk and sugar,” says Narcisse. “But not always.”
At school, Narcisse sits at his desk, shared with three other classmates. He is listening to the teacher’s explanation of French grammar. “French is my favourite subject,”, he says.
"I want to master French to speak well in public because my dream is to become an MP and a minister. Believe me, my first ministerial decree will be to forbid parents to send them kids to work in the gold mines.”
His younger sister, Flora, aged 11, listens and nods her head. Both of them recall- with a sad expression- the case of one of their age-mates in the village who died recently when an artisanal gold mine collapsed. “You see, if he had listened to us and come to school he would still be alive,”says Narcisse.
Long road to education
Narcisse and Flora frequent the Divine Providence Primary School, in Bozoum with 418 pupils. Sister Colette, the headteachers, says that the church-run institution sponsors 70 of their pupils, most of them orphans, whose caretakers cannot afford the school fees. Narcisse is in the third year and her sister is one year behind.
Their two older siblings still live with their parents at Boyabane, their home village, which is 35 kilometres from Bozoum. The children recall the happy times of their initial childhood years, when they could study and play confidently. That was until the rebels came.
“My father is the village’s chief, and we had some cattle and goats at home. When the armed men stormed out village, they took away everything”, says Narcisse.
Their parents’ greatest fear was losing their children: Rebels often forced children to carry their looted goods, and child recruitment cases were frequent. So, their parents sent Narcisse and Florato their uncle’s village, closer to Bozoum.
Bozoum is the capital of the Ouham-Pende prefecture. It hosts several schools, although the number is insufficient, especially with the displacement of children from more remote areas affected by insecurity.
As they walk to school every morning, every now and then Narcisse and Flora are joined by other children from homes along the road who also take the same destination. Being in a large group cheers them up.
"I don’t get tired”, says Narcisse. “I know I still have many years to learn, but one day my dream shall become true, and I will sit at the National Assembly and in the Government. You shall hear my speeches on the radio”,
His sister Flora, who so far has remained silent, finally reveals her ambition in life.
“I want to study to become a local Governor (madame la Prefet).”
Asked about the reason, she does not hesitate: “Because I want to go and tell the rebels that they should stop disturbing children. They should leave us alone.”
For the time being, their wish for a bright future still looks a way in the distance. But with each day’s walk of 20 kilometres, they are getting close to their dream of a hopeful and peaceful future.
