About Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the third largest country (by area) in Africa, the fourth most-populous in Africa, and the 19th-most populous nation in the world. Wars and their devastating effect in DRC have ravaged this resource-rich nation in recent years, killing more than 5 millions Congolese (men, women, children) from 1996 - 2006 ("The Deadliest War in The World," Time, May 2006).
Despite its natural riches of cobalt, cooper and diamond, recent violent wars in the east coast and government instability have sensibly reduced national production and exportation. War conflicts have thrust the DRC's 67 million people into poverty and left them with a broken and inefficient healthcare infrastructure unable to manage primary health concerns, including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, lack of clean water, and reproductive health.
Education in DRC.
Education is the number one key of a world that is moving forward. Education is a way of our future. A country without a better education system is a country with no bright future. One person’s donation can help in making that difference of providing better education to the desperate children. Education to children of Africa is a key to a bright future for African nations. Making a donation to Africa Hope means given a chance to a nation to educate future leader.
According to the World Development Indicators database (2007, April), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) showed a significant increase in the number of the population. The current estimate of the population was 57.5 million in 2005 - up from 50.1 million in 2000. This is approximately 13.1% increase in five years. The DRC has over 5.2 million children not attending school because parents cannot afford the cost of elementary school due to lack of jobs, high percentage of poor population, and lack of financial assistance from the government (World Development database, 2007).
The rate of students enrolled in first grade elementary school between year 2000 and 2006 were only 48% of the population. In second grade, the percentage of students enrolled in elementary school dropped down to 18% - up from 50% due to lack of affordability (World Development database, 2007). And as the level of the general population goes higher, the percentage of students’ enrolled in elementary school goes lower, because parents are limited in their budget in continuing to bring their children to higher level of education.
Because of lack of access to a better education in DRC, only 67.2 percent of the populations from the age of 15 and above are considered to be literate. Those who have the opportunity to attend school have no guarantee of receiving a good quality education, because of teachers and instructors have not been paid for years. Teachers, instructors, and principles are running the school and making their own daily living based on corruption. And as result of this matter, teachers and instructors intentionally fell students from their classes so that parents can bribe or kickback teachers for their children’s passing grades. In the other hand, those students whose parents have enough money to pay teachers and principles for their passing grades, do not need to learn anything in school, because they know they do not need to learn in order for them to pass the class.
The mission of Africa Hope is to build new schools that have good quality education and fairly given to the disadvantage children. Africa Hope will provide better building, better equipments, better tools, and qualified teachers to the disadvantaged students because Africa Hope believes in the value of education. Now, this mission will never come to pass without you (our partners). Your donation, assistance, and commitment to African nations through Africa Hope will make this mission a reality and will make Africa thrive again.
God bless you!
In this picture, is an elementary school in the city of Kinshasa, DRC. In this school, students learn sitting on the floor in a roofless school building, some with no shoes, and when it rains – school activities are canceled.
