Concern Blogs

By Nicki Sugrue

Jean Kwizerimana, 15, is a sixth-year student at Rugendo Primary School in Burundi who received a school uniform and supplies from Concern Worldwide.

September is the beginning of the school year in Burundi, but for many children it is just like any other month. Twelve years of civil conflict, which ended in 2005, left the country scarred. Reconstruction has been slow, significantly impacting the quality of education and the standard of schools available. Many families do not have the means to send their children to school and, even when they do attend, there is a high drop-out rate due to large class sizes and a lack of school materials and infrastructure. Read the rest of this entry »

Aster Arba, grade two, in front of her house in rural Wolayita. Photo: Ethiopia, Concern Worldwide

Aster Arba, aged nine, lives in the remote and rural village of Duguna Fango, about 450 kilometers south west of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Up to when Concern intervened, Aster and her friends would walk eight kilometers every day to go to school.

In fact, they walked barefoot in extreme heat, and risked being raped and abducted, or attacked by wild animals. When I first saw the area, I was humbled by how difficult it was for a young child to travel to school in this extremely hot climate over such distances. Read the rest of this entry »