Out of the 190 countries around the globe, in 2024 the Republic of Chad ranked #13 based on “Purchasing Power Parity” (PPP) which compensates for differences in living costs and rates of inflation which better assess an individual’s buying power in any given country than per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product), according to Global Finance Magazine, which provides global news and insight for corporate financial professionals.
“Although education is a priority for Chad, the country remains faced with a real challenge,” states UNICEF. “The education system is characterized by a low level of schooling, with one out of two school age children out of school.”
UNICEF also reports that:
Only 20 percent of children who finish their primary school studies have a good foundation in reading and math in the two classroom languages, French and Arabic.
The rate of illiteracy among youth is around 70 per cent, which is about more than 2 million youth who do not know how to read or write.
The situation is even more alarming among girls aged 15 to 24, where the rate climbs to more than 77 percent.
The country has been affected by three humanitarian crises – in Sudan, the Central African Republic and Nigeria. These crises have created added pressure on the educational system in Chad, with more than 600,000 refugee children in need of schooling.
Chad’s education system faces many challenges. These include high dropout rates and low primary school completion rates, gender inequalities in access to education, and poor material and supervisory conditions.
To address this dire situation for hundreds of children and youth annually, thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® and working with our partner working in the impoverished country, Hope International Foundation (HIF) headquartered in neighboring Yaoundé, Cameroon, to provide school fees and more for nearly 300 students this coming year.
HIF president Esther Ndichafah told us in August that grant funding from Bread and Water for Africa® helps HIF invest in quality education for rural Chadian children, creating a pipeline of future community leaders; increase literacy and vocational skills to reduce poverty and crime; and strengthen cross-border partnerships and move toward operational self-sufficiency in Chad.
The Chad School Support Program for 2025/2026 will provide full scholarships, covering tuition, exam fees and uniforms, for 296 orphans and destitute children across 10+ local communities, enrolled in 25+ educational institutions.
“This marks the 13th consecutive year of the project, demonstrating its long-term commitment to creating pathways for educated and self-reliant young Chadian boys and girls, in a country where access to education is limited, and access to quality education is even more challenging,” says Esther.
Among them is Laure Pitimbaye, whom we reported on in October 2023, who had benefited from the school fees support program after losing her mother in a road accident and whose father had been incapacitated for many years.m
“At this point, Laure lost all hope,” reported Esther at the time. “One of her relatives took her to N’Djamena with the hope of furthering her education, but finally was not able to send her to school because of her own heavy responsibilities and priorities for her own children.
“Laure stayed at home for one year with no one to help her,” said Esther. “When we went for our school tour, we heard her story and she was enlisted into our school fees program as one of our first university beneficiaries. Without this timely assistance, she would have continued to stay at home – and as is their culture – easily married off.”
Laure, now 22, told us that “By God’s grace, I am almost at the end of my training as a state-qualified nurse at the Health School at the Université le Bon Berger in Ndjamena.
“Being in the health domain, I envisage offering specialized healthcare to people in recognition of the grace which God has granted me through your support,” says Laure who
Another is Cyril Djerambete, now 23, who is a third-year student in nutrition who told us, “I am very happy for your help in my favor because I will be finishing with my first academic cycle and I soon have to defend my thesis for my first cycle diploma in nutrition.
“My ambition is to later have a PHD in nutrition” to pursue his goal in life, which is to help the malnourished children. Once more, I thank you.”
And as for Esther, she wants to ensure the supporters of the Chad School Support Program understand:
“Continuing to support children through this program this year represents another step toward creating more inspiring success stories and lasting change in these communities we serve in Chad which directly affect children from either poor or extremely poor households who without this support, most of them stand no chance of ever going to school.”
