Let's take them to school

Summary of the initiative

In the town of Sotouboua and the 40 surrounding rural villages, there were only two official nursery schools. To compensate for the serious shortage of this type of educational facility, improvised nursery schools were set up by some parents so that their children could be looked after while they went to work in the fields or carried out other activities, rather than being left alone in their huts or on the streets. These facilities often consist of tin shacks or improvised structures. In one of these tin shacks, the Canossian mothers had started a simple and rudimentary nursery school a few years ago with the help of two mothers. Finally, in September 2025, thanks to the help of the Canossian Foundation VOICA, the “Santa Maddalena di Canossa” Nursery School was inaugurated, equipped with classrooms, toilets and a canteen

Now the children of Sotouboua have a healthy environment, one meal a day, healthcare and a place where they can begin their education.

However, the rural villages where they live are quite far apart, and for some children it is still difficult to reach this nursery school. The Mothers’ wish is to be able to equip the nursery school with a school bus that can travel around the villages to pick up the children in the morning and bring them home safely in the afternoon at the end of the day. Thanks to this valuable service, many more children will be able to attend the new nursery school, parents will be free to go to work, and older brothers and sisters will be able to attend primary school instead of staying at home to look after their younger siblings.