There are children who find it easy to learn to read and write, pass their exams and reach the secondary school. Then, there are the ones who have more difficulty to assimilating certain notions but, with patience, teachers can succeed in getting them through their exams. Finally, there is a third category that, for one reason or another, has more difficulty at school and fails the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) several times. For these children, the formal system has no resort. In view of such a situation, the Adolescent Non-Formal Education Network (ANFEN) is fighting to get its pupils recognised by the state…

10 am at Joie de Vivre centre in Chemin-Grenier. About forty adolescents – separated into different groups – are concentrating on their books or on the computer. These pupils would have never imagined they would have a second chance… But, with Joie de Vivre, they are starting – slowly but surely – to regain confidence in their capacity to learn.

All these Joie de Vivre children have had a bad experience in traditional schools. As they had learning difficulties, they were often ignored by their teachers who thought they were not worth the effort. “Here we are given a second chance. In our previous school, we were beaten or completely excluded if we did not understand something in class… Here we want to learn. Our teachers take the time to give us all the explanations we need and make sure we have all understood before moving ahead,” explains Natacha, 21, at CPE level. “My life has completely changed since coming here. I know how to read now,” rejoices Samantha, 17.

One of the main problems in traditional schools is that classes are too crowded and teachers don’t have time to dedicate to everyone. When a child has not had anything to eat in the morning at home and can’t concentrate, teachers don’t understand and simply ignore the child. Likewise, when a child arrives at school in tears because his father – who treats him badly - comes to take him from his aunt where he feels at home, there is no doubt that this child will not be able to concentrate on reading or writing.

“A typical child here is aged between 12 and 18 and comes from a very poor background and has been excluded from the primary cycle. He is either illiterate or has failed the CPE exams many times,” explains Sylvie, one of the teachers at the centre. With such a background, these teachers know they can’t just come and teach children how to read and write. They have to give them full support so that they regain confidence and are able to face the future with hope. “Some of the children don’t even know how to write their names when they arrive,” claims Brinda, another teacher.

As soon as the children arrive, they are directed towards one of the five groups where teachers take up everything from the basics. “We often have to change the curriculum several times during the year because we have to adapt to the children’s needs… This is what such centres are all about,” explains Sylvie.

“Here at the centre we really have everything; it is like our home,” says Brian, 15. The centre indeed gives them bread or cereals in the morning. It also caters for those who can’t afford the uniform. “We are like a little family here at the centre,” reveals Sylvie. In view of the strong emotional ties between teachers and students, we can only agree. “I only came to meet the director, Mirella Chaton, but somehow I started work immediately and I can’t really say why… And I can’t explain either how I have stayed here for four years… If I don’t come to work one day, I don’t feel right. I just miss them,” concludes Brinda.

And thanks to these dedicated teachers, children can start dreaming again… Like Stewart, 14, who is already thinking about when he will become a pastry cook in a renowned hotel…

<B>The struggle for recognition</B>

The best way of helping Anfen at the moment would be to sign their petition. Since their creation, the government has never wanted to recognise them as a non-formal education provider. “We are complementary to their system. We understand that they can’t cater for everyone and are ready to help at our level but they could at least show an interest in what we’re doing and give us their support,” comments Bernard d’Argent. Since the arrival of the new government, they have tried to have a meeting with the minister of Education but in vain. “Our children are like any others. Why shouldn’t they get free transport like all students in Mauritius? This only makes them feel more excluded than they already felt,” says the president of the network, Aline Leal. “This is a terrible injustice and we hope the petition that our children will submit to the prime minister next month will help us make the government understand our frustration,” Bernard d’Argent adds. “But there is one certainty: as long as Anfen exists, we will continue fighting for our children’s rights!” Tilouis, 17, from the centre, hopes he and his friends will no longer be “thrown out of buses by conductors…”

<B>The Anfen network</B>

There are fifteen other centres like Joie de Vivre that have existed for many years around the island to help children who could not adapt to the traditional system. “In 2000, under the initiative of UNICEF, a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working for the benefit of adolescents with no formal education joined forces to form a network of associations,” explains the secretary general of Anfen, Bernard d’Argent. This is how Anfen was born. The aim of creating a network for all these centres was to “find a common approach on teaching methods for literacy and numeracy”, as well as “provide appropriate training to the facilitators working in those NGOs”. The profile of children in all centres is almost the same and it was important to provide teachers with all possible means to achieve their goal – giving these youngsters self-esteem and self-confidence so that they can make a new start in life…