Kamenge Primary School II: Its rehabilitation is urgent

Kamenge Primary School II was destroyed by the heavy rain of 9-10 February 2014 that caused many damages in Northern area of Bujumbura City Council. The school management asks for an urgent help for the school rehabilitation.-By Yves Didier Irakoze

Kamenge Primary School III after damage ©Iwacu

According to Dominique Seseka, Headmaster of Kamenge Primary school II, the incident occurred during the flood of 9-10 February at Gatunguru in the north of Bujumbura. The water reached the level over the school premises and damaged everything inside. “The school office has been completely damaged; desks, tables, books and some of the school kits inside the classrooms have been washed away by the rainwater. The latrines are plugged,” states Seseka.

After the flood, there are always some setbacks: now, all the pupils are transferred to other schools until the problem is fixed. They are at the “Lycée Municipal” of Ngagara, “Lycée Municipal” of Kamenge, Fundamental Schools of Kamenge III and Mirango. For the Headmaster, this incident also affects the pupils’ education level. “Due to the transfer and the long distance pupils make, some miss the school while others turn back before reaching the school. There are pupils who are obliged to attend afternoon lessons due to the availability of places in the schools where they have been transferred. It is difficult for them to study in these conditions. As a matter of fact, the results are far from being satisfactory and perfect,” deplores Seseka.
However, the Headmaster thanks the Bujumbura City Council’s Provincial Educational Authority (DPE) for having called upon different schools to provide books. He also indicates that some NGO’s “Help Channel” have done a good job to give assistance. Furthermore, according to him, his thanks go to some Bujumbura City Council’s MP’s for offering some school kits to pupils.

Need for an urgent assistance

According to Dominique Seseka, various institutions have helped very much though many things need to be done immediately. “We need an urgent help from donors and the government must ensure that sanitary buildings like toilets are in good conditions. Moreover, new desks should be provided and the Headmaster’s office has to be reconstructed, states Seseka. The Headmaster adds that as far as the school is near the bridge over Nyabagere River, this kind of incident will always occur during the heavy rain. “When there is a heavy rain, the river overflows and leave its way. So, it’s very dangerous for the school. Then, the bridge should be strengthened to avoid such problems,” points out Seseka.
Ndikubwayo Eugénie, Representative of the parents’ committee indicates that what happened has slowed down the activities and affected pupils. So, she asks the government to facilitate pupils to come back to their school urgently. “This will help pupils study in good conditions without making long distances. Parents should also be supported morally after having paid a contribution of 1000BIF per pupils for rehabilitation activities,” concludes Ndihokubwayo.
Iwacu tried to contact the Director of “DPE” but in vain. He says he was busy in the meeting.