International Christian Academy (Ivory Coast)
International Christian Academy (ICA) was an American boarding school in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire. It was established in 1962 as 'Ivory Coast Academy' by Conservative Baptist Foreign Mission Society (now WorldVenture) and its main purpose was to provide a standard American education to the children of missionaries in West Africa. In 2002, it had some 160+ students from 13 nations in grades 1-12.
In September 2002, during the Ivorian Civil War, children were trapped at the school for a week by fighting between government soldiers and rebels opposed to President Laurent Gbagbo. Eventually they were evacuated unharmed by French troops to government held Yamoussoukro. Some of the students and staff then relocated to Dakar Academy in Senegal in order to complete the school year. The ICA campus in eastern Bouaké was then used as a French military base in rebel-held Côte d'Ivoire.
ICA was accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
In February, 2005, the ICA School Board formally closed the school with no prospects of reopening.
External links
- List of ICAers who blog
- History of ICA
- Images from ICA Evacuation in 2002
- Association of Christian Schools International
- BBC report
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Coordinates: 7°42′N 4°58′W / 7.700°N 4.967°W