Bent over her paper, square in one hand, pencil in the other, Rebecca traces, erases, retraces. “I would like to make the most beautiful diamond possible, she glides smoothly between two instructions from her teacher Frédéric. I wasn’t interested in geometry when I was little, but there, I love it!” A few months ago, this 19-year-old Congolese girl could not imagine going back to school one day. She arrived alone in France at the beginning of 2021, she slept for a long time on the street before entering Grenoble, where she was involved in a prostitution ring for several months. She is approaching the reception center for asylum seekers (Each) that the young girl discovers the school 3aMIE. From the beginning of the school year prepares a professional aptitude certificate (POSTAL CODE) in the kitchen. “I’ve dreamed so much of being where I am that sometimes I find it hard to believe!” she says with tears in her eyes.
When this Grenoble association was launched in 2017, it set itself the task of filling a gap in the path of young refugees. «Each one intervenes in his own field, housing or administrative assistance, but there is really a lack of educational support. Anyone who is not yet officially recognized as a minor, for example, cannot integrate a courseNational educationrecalls David Hess, the volunteer chairman. However, this is one of their first requests and it is essential for building a future in France!”
University education
Housed in premises in the city center on loan from the municipality, these isolated young people can then benefit from twenty-five hours of general education, including French, mathematics, history or philosophy, before enrolling in a “classical” course. The school has since been open to young people aged 18 to 21. There, as free candidates, they can prepare a diploma – CAP or certificate of skills – thanks to the technical training around the catering and construction, two sectors in tension.
Here the first meeting is with Marilou. “Some have been to school in French-speaking countries, others speak another mother tongue and have never had the chance to be educated, says the education manager, who manages the distribution in groups, “from stadium literacy to the end of the secondary school”. The students – about forty, present every day – can meet in informal moments, to share their progress, have a snack and laugh a little, as in the 30 of 10 break, this Wednesday.
A roof and cards
When the bell rings, everyone joins their class led by one of the volunteer teachers – former national head teachers, retirees, job seekers or students – now coordinated by a team of five employees. Between two classes Science Po, Léa, 20, comes to teach “the essentials” of history-geography. This morning her group does not miss a crumb of its lesson dedicated to the European institutions. “Their motivation is impressive; they seem to have spent the night immersed in their books!” she exclaims, throwing a knowing look at Yosri and Yasserine, two Tunisian brothers.
The work of 3aMIE is bearing fruit – 250 young people supported, a hundred graduates, 100% success at the PAC – “but training or a diploma do not replace a roof or papers!” recalls David Hess, who ensures that he maintains close cooperation with other local players, such as the Catholic reliefthe Cimade or even the Apprentices of Auteuil, to overcome obstacles hampering integration, including housing and the administrative process. Like Lamboron, a 22-year-old Senegalese who “dreams of working in a bakery”, the students cling to the most beautiful examples of success: Sadrac, a Congolese who graduated last year, has already worked as an employed electrician and is starting apprenticeship training. He also settled in Grenoble, where he married and became a father.
Recipes for success
Close-knit students
Extracurricular activities are organized (days at the museum or stays in the snow) to help young people build bonds; the association also proposes to put them in contact with the local chaplaincies.
Sponsorship
To facilitate the daily life of young migrants, supported by several associations depending on the subject, each has a contact person who undertakes to coordinate the procedures and guide them if necessary.
Various financing
In addition to grants from the city and the department, state aid under the poverty plan and support from private foundations, a crowdfunding campaign is organized every year.
