It is 2007.... In the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kinhasa, five Dutch women get their heads together. All five women live amidst the chaos, right in the center of the city and are confronted daily by the Congolese poverty around them. They are convinced that the cycle of poverty can only be broken through education.
What comes next for the five women is weeks of research, deliberation and enquiry with the Congolese and their families. When it becomes clear that the education in Kinshasa is in urgent need of help, the "En Classe" foundation becomes reality.
The education situation in Congo is pitiful. The city school buildings in Kinshasa are in bad shape. The children have neither chairs to sit on nor desks to work at. There are no instructional books and the school grounds are unsafe. When it rains, the classroom floods. Parents often don't have the money to send their children to school in Kinshasa. However, if you create the right conditions, parents will be more likely to send their kids to school.
The name "En Classe" literally means "during lessons" or "at school".