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DRC / CHILD-TO-CHILD EDUCATION
STORY: DRC / CHILD-TO-CHILD EDUCATION
TRT: 4:09
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: LINGALA / FRENCH / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 1-5 DECEMBER 2010, KINSHASA, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
1. Wide shot, children playing in slum area
2. Close up, little girl standing in middle of dirt road, looking at camera
3. Med shot, man walking down paved road carrying blankets (back to camera)
4. Wide shot, men lugging large wagon full of goods
5. Med shot, men sitting under makeshift food stand
6. Med shot, boys and young men hanging out outside of used tire stand
7. Zoom in, woman with basket on her back and two little boys approaching her as she picks food from plants/trees
8. Med shot, people walking in Kinshasa
9. Med shot, 12-year-old Nefa Kabeya walking with her mentees
10. Pan left, older children teaching younger children inside school
11. Med shot, Nefa Kabeya and her mentees singing and dancing inside school
12. Close up, Nefa Kabeya
13. Zoom in, pre-school aged mentees sitting at desk
14. Med shot, Nefa teaching her mentees after school
15. Med shot, Nefa watching one of her mentees solve a problem at blackboard
16. SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Nefa Kabeya, Mentor, 12-years-old:
“It’s important to help the younger kids so they can avoid having problems in first grade. If they’re not well-prepared, when they go to first grade, they’ll never ask questions and won’t participate in class.”
17. Med shot, pre-school aged students sitting behind desk, singing and clapping, with UNICEF notebook in foreground
18. Med shot, mentor singing and clapping before her mentees in classroom
19. Tilt down, from trees to pre-school aged mentees learning and participating in activities outside with their mentors
20. Med shot, male mentor performing story for pre-school mentees
21. Close up, pre-school aged mentees reacting to mentor
22. Close up, more pre-school aged children
23. Med shot, female mentor teaching young children counting skills outdoors
24. Close up, little boy counting with wooden chips on wooden desk outside
25. Close up, Nefa and her mentees clapping, singing and dancing in classroom
26. Med shot, Nefa and her mentees clapping and singing in classroom
27. SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Jovial, Nefa’s Mentee, five-years-old:
“I like Nefa because she teaches us how to sing and count.”
28. SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Mariam, Mentee, five-years-old:
“In class, I love to read, write and sing.”
29. Pan right, older children teaching younger children inside classroom
30. Close up, female adolescent studying in class
31. Close up, side shot female adolescent writing in her notebook
32. Tracking shot, young girl walk down road with little boy and carrying bucket on her head
33. Med shot, little boy standing outside under row of laundry
34. Med shot, rural outskirts of Kinshasa, men and children standing around old tires, woman walks past shot carrying bucket of tree branches on her head
35. Med shot, male adolescent teaching mentees outside of one of the mentee’s home
36. Close up, two little boys dancing and singing
37. Close up, little boy doing counting exercise on bench outside
38. Wide shot, male adolescent teaching pre-school aged mentees outside on the premises of one of the mentee’s homes
39. Tilt down, from ceiling to wide shot girls attending class
40. SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Hello Mulopwe, Mentor, 11-years-old:
“If I couldn’t go to school, I’d be like my friends in my neighborhood. They sell juice and water in the street.”
41. Med shot, Nefa and her mother standing outside her mother’s bread stand. Nefa leaves
42. Med shot, city scenic in Kinshasa
43. SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Mama Nuki, Nefa’s mother, 38-yrs-old:
“I’m alone now. My husband passed away last year. Sometimes the kids are out of school because I don’t have enough money for the school fees. It’s quite difficult.”
44. Med shot, Nefa and her mother at home reviewing her homework
45. Close up, Nefa’s face
46. Close up, Nefa’s hand writing in her notebook
47. Pan right, adolescent male teaching pre-school aged children outside to show several other groups of pre-school aged children learning from older children outside
48. SOUNDBITE (French) Crispin Ngulungu, Child-to-Child Program Project Coordinator, UNICEF:
“This year the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo decided to abolish school fees for the first three years of primary school in some provinces. This is good progress.”
49. Wide shot, children singing and waving their arms outside
50. Med shot, little boy counting with soda caps on bench outside
51. Close up, pre-school aged boy and girl learning inside classroom
52. Close up, little boy jumping up and down, and dancing outside
53. Med shot, female adolescent feeding little boy from bottle of water inside classroom
54. Med shot, pre-school aged children learning inside classroom
55. Wide shot, male adolescent teaching pre-school aged children outside
56. Close up, little girl’s face
57. Wide shot, children singing and waving their arms overhead outside
UNICEF together with the Child-to-Child Trust is collaborating on an innovative and cost-effective approach to early education, through mentoring programs by older children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The overall goal is to foster a rhythm of schooling by preparing preschool children and their families for on-time school enrolment and success.
The DRC is one of the hardest places on earth for a child to grow up. It’s the second poorest country in the world where more than half the adult population either never attended school or only completed primary school. Nearly half the children that enter primary school do not finish.
In 2008, UNICEF and Child-to-Child Trust launched “Getting Ready For School: A Child-to-Child Approach” through which older children started teaching under-five preschool children the basics of math, reading and writing through interactive play.
SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Nefa Kabeya, Mentor, 12-years-old:
“It’s important to help the younger kids so they can avoid having problems in first grade. If they’re not well-prepared, when they go to first grade, they’ll never ask questions and won’t participate in class.”
According to UNICEF, by the time a child is five-years-old, many of the skills he or she will need to do well in school are already developed. During this crucial time of growth, girls and boys need to learn by watching, listening and interacting with positive people in their lives.
SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Jovial, Nefa’s Mentee, five-years-old:
“I like Nefa because she teaches us how to sing and count.”
SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Mariam, Mentee, five-years-old:
“In class, I love to read, write and sing.”
The Child-to-Child Program is also bolstering the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 2: universal primary school education, by making every effort to reach the most marginalized children and bridging the gender gap.
For those who can’t logistically get to school, the Child-to-Child Program is coming to their homes. Here, in the rural outskirts of Kinshasa, mentors gather with their mentees at a child’s home where they learn the same exercises and skills as if they were in a regular classroom. For these children this is the only way for them to have any exposure to pre-school education.
While the program is practically free for the participants, the challenge of school fees for primary and secondary students remains unresolved.
SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Hello Mulopwe, Mentor, 11-years-old:
“If I couldn’t go to school, I’d be like my friends in my neighborhood. They sell juice and water in the street.”
Nefa’s mother is raising six children and sells bread for a living at 50 cents a loaf on commission, a common job for women in Kinshasa. Yet Nefa’s school fees alone cost $100 a year.
SOUNDBITE (Lingala) Mama Nuki, Nefa’s mother, 38-yrs-old:
“I’m alone now. My husband passed away last year. Sometimes the kids are out of school because I don’t have enough money for the school fees. It’s quite difficult.”
However, as a reward for Nefa’s enthusiasm and dedication to mentoring children in her community, her school fees have been reduced.
UNICEF continues to work with the Congolese government to find a way to provide universal primary education for all Congolese children.
SOUNDBITE (French) Crispin Ngulungu, UNICEF Child-to-Child Program Project Coordinator:
“This year the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo decided to abolish school fees for the first three years of primary school in some provinces. This is good progress.”
UNICEF reports that the Child-to-Child pilot program has gone above and beyond its original goals. It has laid a strong foundation for pre-school children to be prepared for primary school as well as teaching pre-teen students about responsibility and compassion, and empowering them to develop invaluable leadership and communication skills they will continue to cultivate through adulthood.
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