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The Schools of Peace in the world Africa: the "Schools of Peace"
This is what Yaguine and Fod� wrote in August 1999. They were two young Guinean men who died in the landing gear well of a commercial aeroplane flying to Brussels. They had climbed aboard in a vain attempt to hand deliver this letter to the 'Sirs in charge of Europe." It was a cry for help, the symbol of the condition of African children and adolescents in the continent that is statistically the youngest but where ill nutrition, illiteracy, and child death rate reach unsettling numbers. The effort of the Community of Sant'Egidio in Africa has been promoting a tight network of People's Schools ('Escolas da Paz' in Mozambique, 'Ecoles Populaires' in Francophone Africa) that today reach out to more than 4,000 children and adolescents. They
are children and youths who are forced to grow fast and to work in order
to help their families. They deal with a school that cannot guarantee them
an education because classes are overcrowded and school books too
expensive. They are children and adolescents who are malnourished and
poorly dressed and whose health is put to the test, not only by dangerous
illnesses, but also by harsh life conditions. Among them there are also
many children who live on the street, without any family ties. For them
the People's Schools are a true family that takes care of them. The
schools of peace offer all these children balanced nutritional supplements,
aid in dealing with a scholastic setting, tutoring, close attention to
their health and support for the entire family. The first centres were
realised in Mozambique, which today is still the country where this
activity is most widespread. From Mozambique the 'Schools of Peace' have
branched out to the whole of Africa and include English, French, and
Portuguese speaking countries.
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