DAY OF CELEBRATION: EMBASSY INAUGURATES SCHOOL

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000568 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR PRM/AFR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV CG UN CF SUBJECT: DAY OF CELEBRATION: EMBASSY INAUGURATES SCHOOL REHABILITATED BY AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES REF: A. 07 KINSHASA 573 ¶B. 07 STATE 27884 ¶1. Summary: PolOff inaugurated a school May 27 in Buburu, Equateur which was rehabilitated by the FY2007 Ambassador's Fund for Refugees. Local officials and the entire town of Buburu welcomed, with much fanfare, the arrival of the Embassy-UNHCR delegation. They visited UNHCR's Refugee Transit Center, where 100 new returnees had arrived that day. The delegation also reviewed the rehabilitation work at the school and found that the implementing partner made great improvements to it. The project will have a significant impact on children's education by providing a safe and secure environment for learning. End summary. ¶2. Buburu's territorial administrator, local administrator, other local dignitaries, and a huge crowd (estimated at 2,500 people) composed of Buburu's residents welcomed the arrival of PolOff and a UNHCR delegation with much fanfare May 27 for a ceremony inaugurating a school rehabilitated with funding from the FY2007 Ambassador's Fund for Refugees. Singing choirs, school children, and a host of local officials greeted the delegation upon their arrival by boat from Impfondo, Republic of the Congo (ROC) following a special flight from Kinshasa. A military review, receiving line, and a parade down Buburu's principal street followed the initial welcome. ¶3. Following a feast of lamb stuffed with couscous, the delegation proceeded to UNHCR's Buburu Refugee Transit Center. One hundred returning refugees had arrived earlier that day from the ROC. A UNHCR representative noted that 10,000 refugees remain there awaiting repatriation. ¶4. PolOff, representing the Ambassador, officially inaugurated the school. The local population enthusiastically received his speech, in French intermingled with Lingala, exhorting students to take advantage of educational opportunities. Village and territorial officials presented him with traditional chiefly gifts, while PolOff and implementing partner AIDES (Actions et Interventions pour le Developpement et L'Encadrement Social) presented the school principal and territorial administrator with new bicycles. ¶5. Following the ceremony, the delegation reviewed the rehabilitation work, which was performed by AIDES with oversight by UNHCR's Buburu's sub-office. Huge improvements to the site were evident when compared with prior photos. AIDES had restored the six-classroom school building by repairing the roof and walls, providing benches, securing windows and doors, digging a water well, and installing boys' and girls' bathrooms. ¶6. Comment: This project will have a significant impact on children's education by providing a safe and secure place for learning. Buburu is a very isolated village on the west bank of the Ubangi River that has mushroomed into a town of 7,000 due to returning refugees. The school inauguration was the biggest social and political event of the year. With the exception of UNHCR's sub-office, the rehabilitated school is the most substantial physical structure in the town, as most buildings are unsupported mud brick structures with thatched roofs. End comment. GARVELINK