The funds will support the second year of programming at a mobile school in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) has received a grant from Brilliant Earth in support of a mobile schooling program in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Brilliant Mobile School is one of two mobile schools founded by DDI in 2015. The school offers a two-year remedial education program for children in mining communities.

The 2016 grant will fund a second year of schooling for one class and will support a new class.

“This small group of children is receiving high-quality education that could enable them to break the cycle of poverty,” Dorothée Gizenga, executive director of DDI, said in a statement. “But there are hundreds, even thousands of children like them in artisanal mining communities in Africa. We call on local and international partners to do more to respond to this need. Through this donation, Brilliant Earth is ensuring continuity and showing the example.”

Beth Gerstein, cofounder and CEO of Brilliant Earth also released a statement: “The work of DDI to improve the conditions of artisanal diamond miners and their families aligns with our own mission to provide jewelry that consumers can be proud to wear. We are happy to invest in the lives of these students and offer them a better future.”

DDI recently announced that it had also received funding from the Diamond Empowerment Fund to support its other mobile schooling program in the country.

(Photo courtesy of DDI)

JCK