The US-based NGO International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD) is helping ensure that 737 indigenous (or "pygmy") children remain in school in Sibiti District, in the Lekoumou Department of southwestern Republic of Congo, Paul Mouanga, an IPHD representative, told IRIN. "To help motivate them, the children received school supplies, uniforms and laundry soap," Mouanga said in the nation's capital, Brazzaville. "We also help to ensure they receive medical attention on a regular basis. And so that they do not abandon classes during the harvest or hunting seasons, canteens have been installed so they can eat at school."