“Sometimes they stay there, silent, then suddenly, they become agitated. As if something was blocked,” he continues.
– “Sparkling” diamonds –
In the east of the country, fractured by years of armed conflict, these adolescents are trying, with the help of a local NGO, to overcome their trauma to build their future outside of violence.
“They have all, at some point, been captured by armed groups,” explains the 53-year-old instructor, who has been teaching them for three years.
A student, a former child soldier, cuts out a piece of fabric during a sewing class at the Practical Vocational Training and Literacy Center in Bria, April 1, 2026. In a classroom in Bria, in the unstable east of the Central African Republic, a group of former child soldiers are learning to sew. It is a way of helping these adolescents, aged 14 to 17, to turn the page on the violence they suffered at the hands of the country’s numerous armed groups.
” width=”768″ height=”512″ src=”https://www.dhnet.be/resizer/v2/S5VKD3X55FFF3BW6V4SEHXNP7I.png?auth=f7de7396ae782d9e1067448e39a726cad814c6091c7a6c8532a5212a19f451ed”>
With its 75,000 inhabitants, Bria, nicknamed “the sparkling one”, because of its diamond-rich subsoil, is the capital of the Haute-Kotto prefecture, a region marked by the persistent presence of rebel groups.
The number of armed groups has fallen in the Central African Republic since the peak of the crisis, going from around twenty to 14 recognized by the authorities. Notably thanks to around ten peace agreements and successive disarmament programs since 2012, the latest of which was signed in July 2025.
However, certain factions and militias continue to control large areas, especially in the east of the country, on the border with Sudan and South Sudan.
Since the end of 2025, fighting between the army and rebels has intensified there, leading to the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, mainly women and children, within the country and towards the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.
– Violence du passé –
In the front row of the class, where the classic benches have given way to sewing machines, Awa (all the minors’ first names have been changed, Editor’s note), was only 14 years old when she was kidnapped by members of the Unit for Peace in the Central African Republic (UPC), one of the largest rebel groups in the country.
A student, a former child soldier, cuts out a piece of fabric during a sewing class at the Bria Practical Vocational Training and Literacy Center, April 1, 2026.
” width=”768″ height=”512″ src=”https://www.dhnet.be/resizer/v2/S5VKD3X55FFF3BW6V4SEHXNP7I.png?auth=f7de7396ae782d9e1067448e39a726cad814c6091c7a6c8532a5212a19f451ed”>
She was held captive for approximately three months. She does not wish to talk about her conditions of captivity and prefers to talk about the present: “today, I feel good. I like what I do here. There are other children who have the same story as me. We help each other in the work”, confides the young girl to AFP, “happy”, to be able to enjoy “a kind of normality”.
At 16, Amadou, trained as a baker by the NGO, makes bread and donuts every morning in an artisanal oven in his village. He spent a year and a half in the ranks of the UPC: “We were not asked to take up arms, but we were there. Like servants. We did thankless tasks, without rest. And what’s more, they spoke to us badly, with harsh words”, he says, bringing up painful memories.
For these children, evoking the violence of the past remains a difficult exercise.
Rachelle, who is learning breeding with Espérance, also wants to tell her story. For a year, when she was only 14, she was used as a sex slave. “They forced me to do things. In the end, I had to do it, otherwise the consequences were serious,” she confides courageously.
Rachelle will say no more about this experience. “The thoughts are still there. I have difficulty not seeing them”, especially since she remains without news of her mother, kidnapped at the same time as her.
– Demand on the rise –
In 2025, 52 students were supported by the NGO Espérance for professional reintegration.
A student, a former child soldier, cuts out a piece of fabric during a sewing class at the Bria Practical Vocational Training and Literacy Center, April 1, 2026.
” width=”768″ height=”512″ src=”https://www.dhnet.be/resizer/v2/S5VKD3X55FFF3BW6V4SEHXNP7I.png?auth=f7de7396ae782d9e1067448e39a726cad814c6091c7a6c8532a5212a19f451ed”>
In operation since 2016, the Central African association, partly financed by Unicef, offers beneficiaries psychosocial monitoring, in addition to training.
And recent disarmament operations have contributed to an increase in demand: “Before, we received maybe one call per month. Today, it’s every week,” explains Karl Malone, responsible for identifying new cases of child soldiers in the Bria region.
“This year, we received enough funding to help 100 children,” he says. But, “there are at least 117 (in total) who need help. And we cannot take care of them,” breathes the humanitarian.
Like other sectors of humanitarian aid, the NGO has been affected by the drop in international funding, particularly from USAID, the American development agency dismantled shortly after Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States.
According to the latest annual report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the recruitment and use of children by armed forces and groups remains the most frequent violation of children’s rights in the Central African Republic, representing 65% of reported cases.
According to UNICEF, around 2,000 Central African children are still used by armed groups.
