A Community Project in Itsandra City

 

ISA- B.T.P French students(2022 class) in Itsandra, Comoros.  

There were a lot of people at the new primary school’s official opening on Thursday 31 March 2022 in Itsandra Mdjini (city). The ceremony was honored by the presence of the Comorian minister of Home affairs, the French ambassador in Union of Comoros, the prefect of Itsandra region and many notables and cadres of Itsandra city. The school consists of 6 classrooms, 4 restrooms, a water tank and a Director’s office. It was built by a team of French students who study Construction and Architecture at ISA- BTP (Institut Supérieur Aquitain du Bâtiment et des Travaux Publics) School located in France at the University of Pau et des Pays de l’Adour. It is their study project to become building engineers. It will be completed by an internship in France.  The architectural project was managed and made possible by two associations:  AJIF (Association des Jeunes d’Itsandra Mdjini en France and Human’ isa 22, a French NGO. The land of 725m² was generously donated by Msankule which is another association from Itsandra Mdjini located in France. 

The French team consisted of 59 students, a nurse and a video director. 

 It is the second building project made possible by Human’ isa in Comoros. 

The first project was a school built by ISA- BTP 2013 Class in the village of Ouzioini in Grande Comore. 

Moreover, a small delegation went to Ouzioini to visit the project of their predecessors (class of 2013)

 and see the progress of the work financed by HUMANI'SA SPIRIT for the creation of 4 toilets 

and the repair of the classroom furniture. During their day off, some students took the opportunity 

to visit the stunningly beautiful sites of Grande Comore. 

Several speeches have been given in front of ISA- BTP 2022 class, the pupils, and the notables, some cadres of the ministry of education and many partners. The director, Mrs. Zainaba Moussa was the first to speak. It was a highly emotional moment for her to deliver a speech in front of so many people. ‘‘I have a lot of respect for our engineers who gave us this piece of jewelry in 5 weeks’’ she said. She also took the opportunity to thank AJIF, Human’ isa 22, and all the partners which completed the project in a short period of time.    

Ema Latapie, president of Human’ isa 22 was among the honorable speakers. She was also grateful for the tremendous job made by her team and all those who helped them during the 6 weeks they spent in Itsandra Mdjini. Ahmed Rafik is the minister of Education’s adviser. In his speech, he reminds the audience that the Comorian government backs any initiative that focuses on children’s education and training.

ISA BTP director, Mr. Christian LABORDERIE was thankful that no one in the group was hurt during their stay in the city of Itsandra and that everything turned out all right. ‘‘At ISA BTP, we give our students not only know-how and expertise, but also interpersonal skills. Every student is committed to a project. This time was the turn for the Comoros. Our future cadres worked as bricklayers, carpenters, laborers, painters, etc. in order to respect the deadline,’’ he concluded.    

The French ambassador in Union of Comoros Mr. Sylvain RIQUIER stressed on the good relationships between France and the Comoros. He was proud about the project and took the opportunity to talk about the AFD (Agence Française de Développement) activities in Comoros. The French Agency for the Development has recently signed an agreement with the government of the Union of Comoros to boost the educational sector, including the vocational training. It is about €16 millions, he says.       

Many things happened outside the construction site during the last two weeks. The group of French students attended a friendly football match between Ethiopia and the Comorian Coelacanths’ football team at Maluzini stadium. The Coelacanths fortunately won. Some students were also at the Dadju concert sponsored by the public company ComoreTelecoms at the same stadium the day after. In order to work efficiently, the class was divided in two groups of 30 students each. The first team starts at 6.30 a.m. and stops at 15 o’clock. The second team works from 14 o’clock and finishes at 22 o’clock.   

President Latapie and the French ambassador were interviewed by the local radio called CRJI (Canal Radio Jeunes Itsandra) to talk about their project. The second-year students in Construction (Génie Civil) from the Institute of Technology of the University of Comoros accompanied by their head, Mr. Paul also visited the building site for a morning immersion during the 4^th week.  In addition, a meeting was organized between ISA BTP director, the Technical Institute director and the president of the University of Comoros.       

In his closing speech, Idi Elghaniou, a historian teacher and the chairman of Meck Moroni, reminded the audience that the old city of Itsandra Mdjini had created the country’s first sultanate. The old forts and ramparts bear witness to this glorious past. ‘‘Concerning school constructions, the first primary public school was built by the government in the 1960s with the support of some members of the parliament of that time: Mohamed Chami and Ahmed Said’’ he says. Today, AJIF and their partners made possible the building of 6 classrooms in a short period of time, he concludes. Many volunteers from Itsandra who worked on the building site as bricklayers, welders, laborers were honored together with ISA BTP French students and received certificates of recognition at the end of the opening school ceremony. 

Chami Mouzawar

Contributing writer