The training course on «social and cultural mediation» was created in Bangui, in the Central African Republic in 2016, following the idea «Let’s encourage young people who are already involved in their community to develop their care of the most fragile, with research and learning methods which enable us to achieve what we undertake.»
In the context of this training, set up by ATD Fourth World with partners including the Central African Agency for Professional Training and Employment (ACFPE), the social and cultural mediators develop their ability to create or rebuild social links with people living with the daily violence of extreme poverty, so as to allow them to take part in social life (market, associations, health center, local authorities, etc.) and cultural connections (school centers, youth centers, media, etc.). They trained in a spirit of openness to those who still miss out on life in society, so as to build a country that leaves no-one behind and with the aim of a long-lasting professional or volunteer commitment, rooted in the knowledge of the realities of poverty and experience on the ground.
Today, faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, which is coming to each country in turn, the young mediators have realized that their training will be very useful for more pertinent action. At this point of the epidemic in the capital, we find them visiting districts to share genuine information on the epidemic and above all to teach the main actions that can slow its propagation down. They also combat rumors which could assign guilt to people, which could increase panic levels, or which could make people think they are protected by fake remedies.
These young people, like others elsewhere in the world, give us hope. They are themselves living in difficult circumstances and yet they are taking initiatives to maintain positive connections and to take care of others.
ATD Fourth World, Bangui, Central African Republic
