Serge Epenge Kangaondja, Global Schools Advocate, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR-Congo)
On August 11th, 2019, I was invited at E.P TUFUA, a primary school in the city of Kisangani (DR-Congo), to discuss with the children of the 4th and 5th grades on the Importance of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). At first, I asked children whether they were familiar with the Global agenda, practically the entire class was not aware that we had a global plan of action to build a sustainable future. As a result, we spent 15 minutes long learning the inspiring story of Frieda Makes a difference (with SDGs) to help learners get a basic understanding of Sustainable Development Goals, and also to help them think critically. The story was published by the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) in Windhoek, Namibia. This short storytelling is an exciting communication tool that helped kids retain lessons and virtues that they will use in their daily life. In fact, the idea behind the story of Frieda was to simplify the lessons of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), so that learners can easily relate to and better understand the UN’s agenda. Along with this, children were able to see a breathtaking landscape, kind people, and animals. Furthermore, they learned about the United Nations and how countries work together to make the world a better place for all people regardless of their gender, race, and religion. In addition to this, children were surprised to know that there is a lot of things they can do to help the world achieve this transformation. At last, I divided the students into 4 groups of 3 people to think about what was required for our country to achieve goal 13, and goal 16. I especially talked to them on how we promote peace and facilitate inclusive societies by providing access to justice for all as well as combating climate change and its impact. Thus, at the end of our discussion, I was moved by the way in which children were answering these questions. In summary, later that same day I had a small meeting with the principle of the School and a couple of teachers and I urged them to go to our website, sign the pledge by submitting the online form. And also join our online educators’ forum and begin engaging with the network of schools around the world to begin using our lesson plans.
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