our programs EN
A real, fun school excursion, and instructive at the same time! Our cultural program Bilembo, an educational center, offers a playful and interactive way for the children to learn about their cultural and natural heritage.
Two years ago, the first, one-of-a-kind cultural center, Bilembo, opened its doors in Kinshasa. Bilembo means "trails" in Lingala, the local language. Bilembo's exhibition includes a unique combination of paintings, artifacts and educational material. It offers a fun and interactive way for the children to learn about their cultural and natural heritage. And that is quite necessary, since history and geography are not part of the curriculum at Congolese schools.
The children are picked from school by a school bus. In most cases it's the kids' first time on the bus! Upon arrival at Bilembo the children are divided into two groups of 20. Both groups have their own well-trained and passionate guide. They partipate in two workshops and have lunch. One workshop addresses the rich history of Congo, an enormous country with more than 400 different ethnic groups. Although our students all live in Kinshasa, their roots are frequently elsewhere. The workshop explores the origin of every student. This teaches them about the different traditions, language, music and customs of the different tribes.
The other workshop is aimed at protecting the natural heritage of Congo. The children are challenged to think how it is possible that a country that is blessed with so many natural resources can be so poor. They play a game called Batelamboka (protect of my country), which encourages them to find solutions and to discover that there are more sustainable ways to protect the natural wealth and resources of their country.
Before they return to school, the children have lunch and a beverage. In 2015, we have organized four school excursions and each time it turned out to be a very special day. En Classe would love to offer this cultural program to all its 4th, 5th, and 6th graders!
The full day, including transportation, entrance fee to Bilembo, workshops, guides, teaching material and lunch, costs 10 euros per child.
Click here or on top of this page if you would like to contribute, so that all the children can enjoy this school excursion in 2016!
Here’s a short video about the children on the bus and a slideshow of the first visit.
The third pillar of En Classe’s work with schools focuses on additional teacher training and student leadership development. Most teachers in the DRC receive little training before they begin teaching, and as a result tend to resort to outdated and ineffective methods learned when they themselves were at school, such as rote learning.
To provide regular teacher training and workshops at zero cost to schools and parents, En Classe partners with the Association des Formateurs Educatifs du Congo (AFEC). Its workshops and seminars focus on new teaching methodologies specifically designed with the developing context in mind. Teachers learn how to engage students, move away from rote learning and towards deeper levels of understanding, and how to encourage teamwork in the classroom. The workshops run on weekends and include free lunch and transportation to and from the location. For students, En Classe partners with ELENGE to provide a leadership training program run by the En Classe management team. This aims to improve students’ leadership and teamwork skills, neither of which are taught in the school curriculum.
En Classe’s digital reading program tackles two co-dependent issues: widespread low reading proficiency and lack of reading materials in schools. Low literacy rates are no surprise when books are difficult to come by and are costly to maintain and renew. To boost reading proficiency levels amongst students, in 2014 En Classe partnered with NABU.ORG (previously Library for All), a New York-based foundation that develops educational applications for the developing country context. NABU.ORG developed a reading app and En Classe purchased a set of tablets for children in En Classe schools.
Implementation of the digital reading program across pilot schools in the En Classe network has been successful. Five schools are now equipped with such tablets that are shared across classes throughout the day and stored in a steel safe outside of school hours. We will expand both the number of schools with tablets and the number of tablets at each school with our new partner the "Orange Foundation".
The reading program offers two additional services: 1) a home library that allows students to take a book home and return it the following week, and 2) extra reading lessons for kids who need help. En Classe offers in-school and after-school/holiday reading sessions where students can come to school to practice their reading skills.
In our hygiene program, we are teaching children, teachers and parents about the various aspects of hygiene, such as washing hands, proper bathroom use and waste management. This is very important since good hygiene can literally be of vital importance in Congo.
The program aims to improve hygiene in schools. If children are less likely to be ill, they are more likely to complete their education. Moreover, when there are no separate toilets, most girls quit school when they start menstruating. Infrastructure improvements include the construction of (separate) toilets, the installation of running water and a hand-washing station. To create as large a support base as possible, teachers, pupils and their parents are trained in hand-washing, toilet use, waste processing and food hygiene.
The cooperation between En Classe and a school generally starts with the renovation of the school building, which we refer to as our Construction program in order to create a safe and comfortable learning environment. Apart from the construction program, we have developed three other programs at our schools to also improve the quality of the education. All our efforts are aimed at providing the children with the best tools possible to have a better future.
Hygiene program
In our hygiene program, we are teaching children, teachers and parents about the various aspects of hygiene, such as washing hands, proper bathroom use and waste management. This is very important since good hygiene can literally be of vital importance in Congo. READ MORE …
Training program
One of the main factors determining the quality of education is the quality of the teachers. In cooperation with our local partner AFEC, teachers at most En Classe schools are being trained in teaching and educational skills. READ MORE …
Reading program
Unfortunately, the level of reading of Congolese children is far below the standard. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since books are hard to come by. In cooperation with Nabu.org, En Classe introduced the very first digital library in Congo in 2015. READ MORE …