À propos
As early as mid-1951, when CBFMS (now CBInternational) missionaries had been in Côte d'Ivoire for only four years, the issue arose that there were problems in sending the children to the closest missionary kids' (MK) school, Mamou in Guinea.
And these problems were of major consideration: Mamou was about 725 miles from Korhogo, one of the main mission stations, by the shortest route. This trip took three days each way with much wear and tear on the missionaries and their vehicles and it needed to be done twice a year.
This also brings to mind that the school year was a continuous eight months long during which the children and parents were separated, a very painful and difficult situation. One house father pointed out that the eight straight months had proved to be a real strain on the house parents, the teachers and the children, especially the older ones who were dealing with homework. At the end of the current system's three-month trimester, we can just begin to feel the stress that would be caused by five more months of the same without a break.
The new school in Côte d'Ivoire ultimately decided on two four-month sessions. The whole point of both systems was to coordinate the school year with the missionaries' field evangelism programs, so that the childn would be in school during the dry season, which was the best time for evangelism, literacy work, and Bible schools. During the rainy season, when most of the Africans needed to be in their fields, the missionaries worked closer to home, studying the language and preparing materials, and it was the best time to have the children around.
