Article
An alternative learning opportunity for displaced children
At the Bulengo displacement site near Goma, 12-year-old Joséphine dreams of a brighter future. "When I grow up, I will be a teacher, and I will teach math, French, history, and geography to children," she says with a hopeful smile. For over six months, Joséphine has been attending three hours of radio school each ...
Article
A wish to return to school is realized
Armed conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has forced thousands of families to abandon their homes in search of safety. When they arrive at their new location, families are eager to send their children to school. But often there is just not enough classroom space to accommodate everyone – displaced children or children…
Article
Temporary learning spaces give displaced children a chance to learn – and make new friends
As fighting intensifies in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), thousands of families continue to flee their homes in search of safety. Many settle in overcrowded locations, where children are often left to their own devices, with few opportunities for properly supervised education or recreation. UNI481...
Article
New UNICEF learning spaces allow children in Bushagara displacement camp to return to lessons
UNI423394 When Muhawe Wimana realized that fighting was nearly getting closer and closer to her village in North Kivu, she dropped everything, collected her kids from school, and fled. This was at the start of the 2022-2023 school year. Her 7-year-old son, Isaac, had just started his first year at primary school and was distraught that when he…
Press release
Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF with partners call for substantial increase in funding for crisis-affected children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
27 OCTOBER 2022, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO –, The Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Yasmine Sherif and the UNICEF Representative, Grant Leaity called on donors worldwide to provide urgent, additional funding $45 Million to support ECW’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country facing one of the world’s most overlooked crises. There are…, Notes to editors:, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is...
Article
Rebuilding schools destroyed by the Nyiragongo volcanic eruption
Thousands of homes were destroyed by the lava in Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when the Nyiragongo volcano erupted in May 2021. "The sky was completely red that night and I was too scared", said 10 year old Dorcas, who found refuge with his family in the neighbouring town of Sake. "When we came back...
Statement
UNICEF deplores the attack on a school and health centre in Djugu, Ituri province
KINSHASA, 20 JANUARY 2022, - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has deplored an attack on a school and a health centre in Djugu, located in Ituri province in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNICEF is calling on all parties to the conflict to put the best interests of the child at the centre of their concerns and to respect and protect…
Article
Teaching peace in schools
When the militia started spreading fear in the Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), several hundred primary and secondary schools were destroyed or attacked. In Cimbayi in East Kasaï province, the primary school Katanda Kabindi was burnt down and everything went up in smoke. The residents fled t...
Article
Helping displaced families get a fresh start
In order to flee the insecurity that ravaged Eringeti, a village in the North-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Esther and her family travelled more than 80km to find refuge in Ituri province. "We arrived with nothing, because everything had been left behind," explains the mother of the ...
Press release
UNICEF condemns the tragic deaths of finals students in North Kivu province
KINSHASA, 28 August 2020 -, Two students were reported to have been killed on Thursday (27 August) in the Masisi area of North Kivu province following a confrontation between the security forces and an armed group near an exams centre. North Kivu Education Director Salomon Shalumoo Tsambali said the students were killed while sitting the second day of the National Primary…
Article
Continuing to study despite schools being shut
"Listening to a lesson on the radio is a new experience for me", Merseivic Lutondele, 10, tells us from behind her radio. Like more than 27 million pupils across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Merseivic cannot go to school at the moment due to corona virus. A pupil in her fourth year of primary school, Merseivic listens to her classes…
Article
Chadrack: a teen with big dreams
“I thought my life was over,” says Chadrack Sivi, aged 17, remembering the day when he had to leave school, just after obtaining his certificate for completing Primary studies. Chadrack was unable to progress to Secondary studies as the school fees were too high. It was not until October 2019 that Chadrack bega...