Providing Congolese refugee children with the means to attend school is the first focus of People to People Liaison.
School offers children suffering from the trauma of conflict some amount of stability, safety, and a regular schedule to follow. The children are not only receiving instruction, but the very act of going to school can help them through trauma recovery. PTPL focuses on supporting students in 38 primary and secondary schools in the Uvira Region in the eastern Congo. PTPL pays tuition for the benefit of specific children who would not be able to attend without this assistance.
A number of the children PTPL assists are orphans who are often living with host families. The money that PTPL sends is used to pay the tuition fees required of each student. The schools are very primitive. Children often sit on bricks and the classrooms have no windows or doors. Often there are no teaching materials. All that said, attending school is very important to the children. There is always more need than PTPL can meet.
Educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty. Girls who are educated are more likely to be able to obtain jobs and delay marriage. Studies have indicated that the most important factor in reducing the number of children women have is their level of education. Of the students we support, approximately 50% are girls.