“Without education, there can be no progress or peace in the country”: a personal reflection on International Day of Education
The following is written by Julienne*, a teenager from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who participated in Save the Children’s education program, Ni Someshe!, from 2020-2023. In her own words, she shares her experiences and her hope for the future of children in her country.
My name is Julienne*. I am 15 years old, and a secondary school student in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’d like to tell you the story of my life.
Imagine that you’re living peacefully in your home and suddenly, there is fighting in your village. That’s how our lives changed so quickly. We fled and left everything behind to save our lives.
When we arrived in the camp [for internally displaced people], we had almost nothing to survive on. Our parents could not afford to send me and my siblings to school. The only school in the area was a private school on the outskirts of the camp that charged a fee to attend. Although my parents wanted me to study, there was nothing we could do.
I spent a whole year without studying. I began to see that life can feel like a waste and I become hopeless. Where we lived before, I studied without any worry.
Do you know how I managed to go back to school? One day, when I was walking in the neighbourhood, a man greeted me and my sister and asked us where we were from, and why we were not in school. He told us that he would like to talk to our parents as he worked for Ni Someshe! (Teach Me!) Project. That’s how my sister and I were enrolled in school. It was a day of unforgettable joy!
After enrolling in school, I joined the school club to ensure our rights are respected at school and in the community. We raise awareness among other children about the right to education. Where I live, many girls don’t study, especially displaced girls and boys.
If I hadn’t returned to school, maybe I would have been married to armed men. Here in my community, many girls are uneducated and marry into poverty at the age of 15 or younger. As long as a girl is in school, she is spared many threats to her life, such as early marriage. In communities where girls are educated, I see that they have a chance for a better life.
Without education, there can be no progress or peace in the country.
I started to help children who don’t attend school to learn the alphabet. I also started to teach my mother. I now consider myself a significant person in society. My goal is to finish my studies to become a humanitarian worker, to help other children.
The Ni Someshe! (Teach Me!) Project was generously supported by Global Affairs Canada from 2020-2023, and reached 30,135 girls and 28,879 boys with a variety of interventions, including school kits, menstrual hygiene supplies, community campaigns for school enrolment and gender equality, supporting school clubs and activities, infrastructure improvements, and teacher training. Even two years after the end of the project, the Ni Someshe! Project is still changing children’s lives through the ripple effects of education.
*name changed to protect privacy