- Title: Mobile school offers hope to nomad children in Chad
- Date: 12th September 2022
- Summary: TOUKRA, CHAD (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TEMPORARY SHELTER HOUSING NOMAD FAMILIES VARIOUS OF PUPILS IN CLASS SCHOOL TENT VARIOUS OF STUDENT WRITING IN HER NOTEBOOK VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEER TEACHER AND FOUNDER, TOUKRA NOMAD CHILDREN'S SCHOOL, LEONARD GAMAIGUE, TEACHING CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (French) VOLUNTEER TEACHER AND FOUNDER, TOUKRA NOMAD CHILDREN'S SCHOOL, LEONARD GAMAIGUE,
- Embargoed: 26th September 2022 10:35
- Keywords: Chad education nomad school transhumance
- Location: TOUKRA, CHAD
- City: TOUKRA, CHAD
- Country: Chad
- Topics: Africa,Education,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001288505092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:In a makeshift classroom of cloth-draped branches, dozens of children sat squeezed together on a mat and watched as their teacher chalked simple sums on a blackboard - a rare chance of education for their nomadic community in Chad.
Around 7 percent of the central African nation's population of around 16 million are nomads, who move hundreds of kilometres from the south with their herds every year when the seasonal rains turn the semi-arid central regions green with fresh pasture.
This way of life is centuries-old but incompatible with Chad's formal education system, where less than 1% of nomad boys and "virtually zero" nomad girls were registered as of 2018, according to the Copenhagen-based International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs.
Teacher Leonard Gamaigue was inspired to set up a mobile school when he saw children playing at a nomad camp in Toukra outside the Chadian capital N'Djamena during normal school hours in 2019.
"When we started, we had practically nothing, not even a piece of chalk," the 28-year-old recalled, after a lesson where the students had carefully jotted down answers in exercise books on their laps.
Nearly three years on, his school has 69 pupils of various ages and basic supplies thanks to donations.
"Children are making a lot of progress. They have never been to school before, none of them. And today to see that they can already write their name correctly, express themselves in French, perform mathematics operations," Gamaigue said with pride.
The teacher has also received an education in nomadic ways, learning to conserve water more carefully, live off a milk-heavy diet, and get used to packing up the school and following the community when they move on every two months or so.
After their lesson finished, the children picked up the blackboard and placed it gently under a tree to protect it from the rain that had earlier flooded parts of their camp.
Severe seasonal floods are among the many challenges facing Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world where one in every five children does not make it to their fifth birthday, according to the World Bank.
"We are delighted to see our children's learning and progress in school ," said school parent and camp leader Ousmane Brahim.
"In the past, we, nomads, did not know the importance of schooling, but nowadays we are beginning to understand its importance for ourselves and for our country," he added. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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