Charlène – A Student and a Mother
“Last year I got pregnant. My father was angry. During the school year, I had difficulty learning because of the pregnancy, and I did not pass my secondary school entrance exam. As I was 14, I would not be able to resume school after birth,” said Charlène Pone Goly, a 15-year-old girl from Godekro, Côte d’Ivoire.
The adolescent girl had a daughter and now has to care for her. In order to do so, Charlène, just like thousands of other girls in Côte d’Ivoire, would be obliged to leave school.
But, Charlène was fortunate. Despite opposition from her mother and father, Germain Kouassi, a local teacher, encouraged her to go back to school and informed the school director of her situation. The school director intervened and persuaded Charlène’s father to register her in the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Bridging Tomorrow project, a joint initiative with the Qatar-based Educate A Child. “Better encourage her to resume schooling now; otherwise, she will never come back,” said Sir Degni Franklin, the school director. As part of the project, the NRC has trained 460 school directors like Franklin in school management, child protection, and the necessity of educating children, especially young mothers.
In addition, the Bridging Tomorrow project provides quality education in an accelerated manner to over-age and out of school children. Students complete the equivalent of two years of the national curriculum in 32 weeks. Afterwards the majority are integrated directly into the formal education system.
Teachers and students alike receive didactic kits to ensure that there are adequate materials for quality learning. Moreover, the NRC works with parent–teacher associations to promote parental involvement in school management and the education of their children. The teachers receive in-service training and refresher follow-ups throughout the school year. Once Bridging Tomorrow students integrate into the formal education system, the NRC tracks their progress in subsequent years. Since 2013, this project has enrolled more than 16,000 out of school children across Côte d’Ivoire.
Charlène has returned to school and now has a new opportunity to complete her education and become a productive member of society. “I am back and will do my utmost to go further,” she says. Kouassi, Charlène’s teacher, remarks, “During the first days, she seemed timid, but gradually the use of the child-centred methodology made her become confident.”
