This Monday, September 9th, the Popular Student Front of Nice organized a free distribution of school supplies at the Jean Médecin university campus. In less than an hour, the stock was gone, indicating a high demand.
6:30 PM. Rebecca Chibane and her friends have just set up at the entrance of the campus. Loaded to the shoulders, these students, members of the Popular Student Front (FPE) of Nice, unpack their seven boxes of school supplies, ready to make people happy. Pens, notepads, notebooks, binders, highlighters, papers… The list is long, but there’s something for everyone, and everything is free. This small stand is a true school paradise. They have only one mission in mind: to help the largest number of students.
“Thanks to them, I will start the school year smoothly”
“Free distribution for everyone” shouts one of them to attract young passersby. It didn’t take long before the first interested stopped by. The free nature of the supplies surprises many, like Steeve. “I think it’s a very good idea, especially a few days before the start of the school year. I haven’t prepared for my second year yet. It’s not easy. These are not expenses you anticipate, but thanks to them, I will start the school year smoothly,” he says, arms full of materials.
A sentiment shared by young Neil, who has just arrived at the Jean Médecin campus. This young man, in his first year of Sports Science, is totally enthusiastic about the initiative. He thinks that “it’s very kind and very humane of them to help students” before adding that “they should be encouraged more for what they’re doing.”
The power of aid and mobilization
In barely 30 minutes, more than half of the stock was gone. Worth about 500 euros, the supplies were collected over three consecutive weekends last month. This operation was only possible thanks to the generosity of donors and the volunteering of student members of the Popular Student Front.
Rebecca Chibane, co-president of this union association and syndicate, laments the worrying increase in the number of students in difficulty, exemplified by this distribution. “We are nearly 800 students on this campus, and it only took fifty, maybe at most a hundred, to exhaust the supplies,” she notes.
Having experienced financial difficulties herself early on, she knows how crucial it is to reach out to students in precarious situations:
“I experienced poverty in Lyon and I would have liked the State to support us. I would have liked to have help like this when I was in prep school there. I had a very hard time because there were so many things to buy. Today, I am better. I am back home, and I can help others in turn. It’s a chance to see students mobilize to help.”
Although this is the first free distribution by the Popular Student Front, many other associations, such as ADN, Cent Pour Un 06, Habitat et Citoyenneté, and Roya Citoyenne, have been involved with younger people for several years. Each school year, they distribute supply kits to disadvantaged schoolchildren and middle schoolers. This year again, the results are alarming with more than 800 children benefiting compared to 250 in 2018, demonstrating that poverty also extends to the youngest.
