School is out for summer. Not for me – but for Mohamed and many of the boys in the
neighborhood. It felt like they barely went to school. Finishing at 12:30
equals only a half day in my book and I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t
continue school year round with a schedule like that. I’m feeling lost and
anxious about what to do with him (and by extension them) for the next few
months. I hate to think of the bad habits forming from all these hours of hanging around with nothing to do. Year after year after year.
“Finishing
schools” (I’m not really sure what else to call them, skill schools maybe?) for
girls are quite popular. They are an aid/NGO thing and I’ve seen them here and
in Congo. They offer training in skills like sewing, hairdressing, manicures
and even technology. Some also have courses in reading and writing and math.
The walls around these schools often have pictures of women and girls engaged
in all sorts of useful tasks designed to keep them busy and provide a
livelihood.
My unease
about the long schoolless weeks ahead led to me wondering what kind of skills
would be useful for guys. How would we “finish” them? If such schools existed
(and I was, of course, imagining the start of a new trend all across Africa)
what would they offer? Most importantly, I wonder why they don’t already exist.
A recent conversation with the boys about how to be beautiful inside and
outside and how to treat the hordes of girls who would soon be surrounding them
reminds me of this article about a school for husbands. The time is ripe for a
new trend.
I find myself trying to dish out these small bits of wisdom as Mohamed
reaches those difficult years of teenage-dom. He’s got lots of energy, he’s
right about everything and he wants to please his friends. I am happy that he’s
made so many friends but it seems one solution has led to another problem. I
recognize this as not just our problem but the problem of all developing
countries (can I call them emerging countries? Is that a term that has taken
hold yet? So many countries in Africa and Asia are taking off and flying into
modern times with more services and advancements than can be found in Europe or
the US.)
The
unending voyage of migrants is a testament to the dismal situations boys and
men are facing. They spend days, weeks and months with nothing to fill their
time and no prospects for a future.
What
are they to do with all of their time? Mohamed’s ceaseless requests for small
money (100franc alloco, 50 franc bissap and on and on) resulted in me
sending him off in search of a way to make money. We quickly deduced that it
was futile. Things kids do for money in other countries are careers here.
Selling lemonade- women feed their children on profits from making and selling
cold drinks. Raking? Pulling weeds? It’s known as agriculture here and there is no shortage of farmers in the lettuce fields. Small jobs for youth don't exist, unless it is money going to feed the family.
This early search for money is
only the beginning of a lifetime of deadend leads down a road to nowhere.
When I
think of the boys in our neighborhood, I am frightened for their future. Some
may get scholarships to better schools (it is the practice for students to attend
Ivorian schools until the last two years when the smartest ones can get
entrance to the French schools- at government pay, I believe. My colleague in the secondary school tells me
they arrive strong in French and math skills, subjects of emphasis in the
French system. They are well prepared to take the exams.) But not all students
have this opportunity. And higher or better education does not always ensure employment.
What of the ones who squeak by with 50%? They may end up selling wares in a small boutique
or along the roadside. They might have the chance to learn a trade such as
mechanics, electricity or carpentry. Some may find themselves in labor- working
with cement or doing the preconstruction tasks of digging and clearing. There
is always the ever present phone credit business.
I’m going out on a limb to offer another of my intensely unscientific statistics to guess that of all the boys Mohamed hangs out
with (4 or 5 solid friends and another 5 -6 interlocutors) maybe 2 will end up in one of these situations. And the rest? Wandering about town wondering how to fill their days, gathering in groups at the corner spaghetti shack to talk about the latest soccer scores, dreaming of a faraway life in another world where work is possible and the basic comforts of life are not considered a luxury. Surely there is a better finish for our boys?
