Duékoué  Ivory Coast - Thursday 18 October 2007 - Norwegian Refugee Council in Duékoué

We are ready to continue our travel to the next country as we have finished the interview, we have done some goodwill (in Yamoussoukro) and my wounds are healed (almost). The only uncertainty now is Betsy, but I have to try to bring her all the way to Monrovia to fix the hiccups with the gearbox. Yes, its true, the gearbox is not functioning perfectly but I was promised by some mechanics in Yamoussoukro that it was safe to drive to Liberia. I am not 100% confident, but Mr. Hanssen is expecting me to be there on Sunday and will be on the road on Thursday morning.

Anne Thurin and Stéphane Brossard (picture) from NRC Duékoué Office offered me to stay at their mansion in the middle of the city and Stéphane gave me great help in organizing and translating the interview with 13 year old Salimatou Kaba.

NRC runs a project in Duékoué called Yep (Youth Education Program) that gives IDP's (internally displaced people) a 10 months education to learn how to write, read and do simple math. The projects are able to receive 50 girls and 50 boys at a time and the school day is dived into theoretical learning and a workshop where they are trained in profession such as hairdressing tailoring carpentering shoemaking, mechanics etc. In addition to this they are also getting a weekly course in life skills training where they are thought about wildlife, culture, HIV, hygiene, nutrition, health, peace.

As the youths that are attending normally would have been on the street as vendors or other simple work the project also offer free lunch and a nursery for the young girls that are orphans and have a baby. At the time we visited there were 15 babies in the nursery.

"We want them to learn the basics and also help them to establish a business with the help from donors and NRC" says Stéphane, the project leader in Duékoué as he shows me around the premises in which they are renting from a private school. They have refurbished and also built a canteen and nursery. This is the first centre in the north-west and NRC is working to open two other project not far from Duékoué, in Guiglo and Blolequin.