Bunia, 10 August 2010 - Peacekeepers from the Guatemalan Special Forces (GUASFOR) of MONUSCO are financing with United Nations agencies support, the construction of a wall fence around Ndromo primary school in the town of Bunia, in the northeastern Ituri district. Rehabilitation work on the school also includes erecting a mast for the Congolese national flag.

The project was approved a week ago during a coordination meeting held at the Guatemalan military camp, between UNICEF, UNDP, schoolteachers, and MONUSCO GUASFOR. It was launched on July 31st and is scheduled to be completed in early September. 700 children are registered at Ndromo primary school in Bunia, including 160 children of FARDC soldiers killed in action between 2003 and 2006 in Ituri district. The wall fence around the school will enhance security and keep the pupils away from vehicle traffic. Erecting a mast to fly the national flag will support civic education classes.

The local population and authorities expressed their gratitude to MONUSCO GUASFOR for their support and encouraged the children to take good care of the school facilities and make the best use of them.

The 150 blue helmets from MONUSCO GUASFOR arrived in the DRC on 28 January 2010. Lieutenant-Colonel Edgar Fuentes, explaining the role of his contingent, said: "We are based in Bunia and have also a Temporary Operating Base (TOB) deployed in Dungu. In these two locations we carry out our operations as special forces, but we also conduct civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) activities. Thus, on Monday 2 July 2010, we conducted a medical campaign in collaboration with the Bangladeshi and Nepalese contingents, and also constructed curboards for the OFENE orphanage."