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This school year the number of students in our Primary School increased to 275 boys and 202 girls, together 477. Our Secondary School population also grew, now 53 boys and 37 girls, together 90. That brings our total amount of students up to 567! It is very encouraging to see that the parents appreciate the schooling of their children so much, which will give them a better chance in their future.

All our 32 students from the 6th grade passed the final exams at the end of the last school year. This is a big success for the school and proves that our teachers and director are doing a good job. The official name of our school is „E.P. A.D.H. MUSHAPO”. It stands for „Ecole Primaire (Primary School) ADH Mushapo”. Our school director Pierre went to a meeting of the sub-division from the Ministry of Education in Kamonia for all school directors of this area. Two days before school starts we have a preparatory meeting with all the pupils at our school to prepare them for a good school year ahead.

The school books we sent from Kinshasa finally arrived. In the meanwhile, 32 students from our 6th grade are on their way to their final exams in Mungamba.

One of our sponsors in Germany sent us a lot of jerseys, footballs and pumps, so we could give our school a set for two teams and some more for the schools in the neighboring villages. It is difficult to explain the many steps it took to get these materials all the way to Mushapo, but it was also a special wish of the neighboring schools which will create more joy and unity between all of the schools.

Our school now teaches 440 children in the primary school free of charge, something almost unheard of in Congo. Besides that we teach 60 students in the secondary school which is paid for by the parents. It was their own initiative as it makes it easier for their older children to go to school right where they live instead of having to walk to another school far away. Altogether our school teaches now exactly 500 students. The teachers and school director received several training courses throughout the year to improve their teaching skills.

During our meeting with the Minister of Education, Mr. Maker, a year ago in Kinshasa, we asked him if he could help us to get the teachers of our school paid since it is registered as a governmental school. He agreed to take care of this and now it happened: all our 10 teachers and the school director received their first salaries from the government! Until now, we paid their salaries. If somebody does not know all the local complications involved in reaching this goal it is difficult to understand what a huge miracle that is! Basically all of our contacts in Congo had their doubts and told us that this will never happen. Jean wrote us recently that nobody in the area understands how this is possible as none of the other schools in the villages around are receiving salaries for their teachers. In order for the teachers to receive their first salary the local school board in Kamonia ordered our school to close for 2 days and asked all teachers and the director to personally come to Tshikapa. They walked 60km from Mushapo and the next day they walked back. Hopefully soon they will be able to receive their salaries in Kamonia, which is only 40 km away. We are very thankful for this great victory as it is an important step towards the independence of our school. Another step in the direction of independence is the new school committee. They made an effort to inspire the parents to contribute something towards the school, in the interest of their children. All parents agreed to give 500 FC per child per month, which is about 50 Euro Cents. This is a big commitment of the parents and will help with the upkeep and running of the school.

For this school year 2015 - 2016, a new School Committee was voted in by the parents of the students. The two chiefs of the village were not voted in because of the personal issues they have with each other which were carried into the meetings in the past. The committee members make a financial contribution for the benefit of the school. The money will be kept by the treasurer under the control of the president of the committee and the school director. This development is very encouraging for Jean and us as it shows initiative of the local population. They were not afraid to vote out the two chiefs and vote in people who are considered responsible representatives of the village. This should stabilize and strengthen the school. The first committee meeting will be on the 4th of November. The latest account of children in our school: In the Primary School we have 238 boys and 202 girls. In the Secondary School we have 33 boys and 27 girls, in total exactly 500 students.

On 7 September at 07:30 am, the primary school started with 198 boys and 212 girls, a total of 410 pupils. At 12:30 pm, the high school started with 21 boys and 13 girls, a total of 34 pupils. Not all had yet returned from where they went during their holidays, since they travel by foot on the countryside, which is time-consuming. All teachers received their own Service Card with a photo functioning as an official card from our ADH Congo School. These cards are functioning as official identification. Josh helped us to produce these cards, and Anissa’s former school in Kinshasa printed and plasticized them. Our school director and two teachers received further training in Kamonia, organized by the Ministry of Education.