DRC VC - Part II

At 8am in the VC room (upstairs in the Math area).

Here are the Bio's of the students from ETN that we will speak to:

IVC OVERVIEW: MEET YOUR PEERS- ETN VOCATIONAL CENTER

ETN is a vocational training school supported by CARE in the DRC. The center offers eight vocational training programs ranging from mechanics, to sewing, to plumbing, and even modern African cuisine! This year long program works with demobilized child soldiers, survivors of gender-based violence and street children to help them gain a skill set with which they can build a livelihood for themselves after completion of training. There is Michael. He is 21 years old. He had 9 siblings but lost most of them to conflict and illness. He lives just outside of Goma with his aunt – both of whom have AIDS. Everyday, he walks over an hour to ETN to learn culinary art. In the future he hopes to be an artist to share his story. There is Baraka. She is 13 years old. She loves Rihanna and has even tried to copy her hairdos several times (not the red one though!). She studies computing and electronics at ETN and dreams of becoming an engineer. She would like to bring sustainable electricity to her neighborhood. There is also Patrick, or as his friends call him "LMP." He is 19 years old. He is actually from Rwanda (we will learn more about this interesting relationship between the two border countries later). He was a child soldier but just this past year, he was given the opportunity to study at ETN. He decided he would have more opportunities in the future with an education so he stopped being a solider. He is currently studying mechanics. Then there is Moise. He is 20 years old. Although not formally part of the group of students I work with, he came up to me and asked me questions about America (not knowing I'm actually Belgian!). He told me he wished to study in the US with one caveat: to return to Congo and become a humanitarian worker. When asked "why?" he simply responded "to help my country develop." And finally there is Abigael. She is 20 years old. Abigael has been an orphan most of her life. She studies computing and plans on travelling the United States and Europe to meet her peers and learn from them via technology – she believes education is the key to her country's development. In the meantime, she would like to learn how to build a cellphone.