Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
The Hours We Give Back to Our Children
Ask a parent in Abidjan how their morning started, and the answer is rarely about breakfast. It is about the road.
A city at capacity
Abidjan built much of what Côte d'Ivoire is today. It is also full. The traffic no longer eases after the rush. Rents keep climbing. Green space keeps shrinking. And in the back seat, a child who woke up before dawn sits in a car for longer than they will sit with their parents that evening.
We rarely count that cost, so let us count it. One hour on the road each way is ten hours a week. Over a school year, that is close to 400 hours. About a month of a child's waking life, every year, spent in traffic.
And the road is only the most visible cost. Smaller homes, louder streets, less room to play: a saturated city asks children to grow up in less space than they need.
No one would choose that on purpose. Most families simply never stopped to ask whether there was another way.
A different kind of morning
Just east of Abidjan, along the coast, Grand-Bassam offers a different answer. Sea air instead of exhaust. Space for children to run, cycle and explore. A historic town recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage site, where children grow up surrounded by history they can actually walk through. And Abidjan is still within reach by expressway when work calls.
Living here is not about stepping away from opportunity. It is about refusing to let a crowded city decide how your child spends their childhood.
A school worth the move
For many families, the question that holds them back is simple: is there a good school? At BrightSteps International School, the answer is yes.
- Every class is taught in English, from Pre Nursery to Grade 7, with Grade 8 opening next school year. French is taught as a subject.
- Children learn through inquiry. They wonder, explore, create, reflect and act, building the habits of thinkers rather than memorisers.
- Our teachers bring an average of more than 20 years of classroom experience.
- Classes are small, so every teacher knows every child.
- Parents receive a weekly update every Friday on the BrightSteps Hub, so you always know what your child is learning.
And yes, the school has a rabbit and a tortoise. Some lessons are not found in textbooks.
The real question
Abidjan is a great city. That is not in doubt. The question is what kind of childhood your child is living inside it.
