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You're watching UNICEF Television.

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Parents in the village of Konovahogu, Côte d'Ivoire, face a tough decision when their children reach school age.

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Do they send them to class, or do they send them to work in the field?

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Nearly a million children in this war-torn country do not attend school,

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which translates into an overall literacy rate of just over 50%.

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Three years ago, the local NGO ARC, with help from UNICEF, began offering parents an alternative.

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Instead of work or school, children were given the chance to attend class

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in between the time they spend in the field raising crops or tending livestock.

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Two of the most promising students are brothers Wajanga and Kadukan Silyu,

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who are 12 and 8 years old respectively.

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There are 10 children in the family, and all of them help out in the field.

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The boys spend an hour in the field in the morning,

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and several more hours in the field in the late afternoon.

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In between, they attend classes at an informal school.

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Wajanga says,

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I will be able to share the knowledge I gain in school with my family.

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I can teach those who have not been able to go to school.

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It will also help me get a job.

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Children from several nearby villages attend informal classes here,

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bringing the total class size to 63 students.

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UNICEF provides books and school supplies, as well as teacher training.

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Many of the children begin their education here,

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but later transfer to formal schools after they learn the basic skills of reading and writing.

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The staff of ARC says the benefits of education can be seen everywhere in the village.

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Education really changes the daily life here,

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especially if you look at the brothers.

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Like so many other children here, there's a definite increase in hygiene,

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because the children here learn to adopt hygienic behaviors.

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When you look around, you see that the clothes are cleaner than they were before.

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You also see they keep their houses clean.

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They know the importance of cleaning their living space.

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You also see more children wearing a watch, and they respect time.

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Providing a quality education is a basic human right.

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Protecting that right often requires innovative thinking that works with,

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not against, local traditions and cultures.

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This is Thomas Naiba reporting for UNICEF Television in Konovahogu, Côte d'Ivoire.

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Unite for Children.