Education is a long term investment; let’s start now!
We have been active in ELOVI promoting education through the following initiatives:
Primary school presentations
We organize in-school day sessions to present sexual education and hygiene topics by visiting primary schools with trained representatives. This is done in coordination with our partner KANIEN Cooperative.
These sessions aim to:
Discuss sexual education during open house days. The lessons are prepared in advance and based on recurring situations observed in village life.
Teach girls how to recognize their menstrual cycle and understand the changes happening in their bodies.
Educate boys on how to respect girls.
Talk about personal hygiene, including how to use a toothbrush, sanitary pads, and the importance of regular body washing.
Talk about the hygiene of the environment and how that can impact our daily live.
We organise some knowledge contexts and reward the best of the classes.
Introduce the Support to Higher Education (SHE) program (see below). By engaging with primary schools, we are able to follow up with teachers and parents of children who show potential and could benefit from the SHE initiative.
Current impact
BleuGrys has been active since 2020 in the village of Elovi (some 60 Km north of Abidjan) covering 2 schools. We typically organise 3 events a year: at the beginning of the school year, on women’s day and at the end of the school.
Support to Higher Education (SHE)
Accessing secondary education remains a major challenge for children in rural Côte d’Ivoire. Most secondary schools are located far from the villages and are not reachable on foot. Public transport is either unavailable or unreliable, making daily commuting nearly impossible.
Through the SHE (Support to Higher Education) program, BleuGrys offers to a limited number of students housing in the city, close to their secondary school. We ensure that these children have access to:
Basic accommodation
Daily meal
Support, where possible, with their academic and personal challenges
The key goal is to create an environment where the children are supported to continue their education whilst being far from home.
Current Impact
As of today, BleuGrys supports 8 students who are enrolled in secondary school and live together in a shared house sponsored by the foundation. We cover the cost of rent and provide essential food and supplies to ensure they can focus on their studies and build a better future. We are also proud that 3 of the students we supported are currently attending university in Abidjan.
What we would like to do more
We are encouraged by the positive outcome so far, but we also realise that we have limited resources. We would like to provide better accommodation and supervision for more students in the secondary program.
