Why is our school necessary?
The state school system in Cameroon reflects the situation of the whole country: the school fees are too high for most parents, the teachers often don’t get paid, class sizes of up to 80 children are the norm and the quality of the instruction is accordingly scanty. Corruption also reaches into the school rooms. In principle school attendance is free of charge; however the parents need to come up for additional expenses. Most families cannot afford this amount of around 125 CHF per year. We founded our school against this background as well as the glaring poverty in the country as a consequence of the increasing costs of living, the rampant spread of aids and the degeneration of family structures. The "Searchlight School" favours financially and socially disadvantaged children, mostly girls, who would not be able to attend a public school. We are the only school in the district, that enables a virtually free school attendance to the familiarly disadvantaged children.