Building a solid construction in the bush is no easy task. Ours will be the first one in this whole region – its foundation and pillars are to be built with cement and iron, and the walls with baked bricks. The lack of infrastructure there makes it difficult for us to break through the cycle of poverty and the many obstacles in the interior of the country. But we won’t let this discourage us. It takes patience and perseverance, and thank God for our friends who want to support us in our efforts. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle with many small pieces, all of which are important in order to complete the picture.
Before we could go to Mushapo to start with the construction, we met old and new friends in Kinshasa who are very excited about our project and wish to help us. For example, CAA, the biggest airline flying from Kinshasa to Tshikapa, the main city near our project, wants to regularly sponsor our tickets, which is a tremendous help towards our work. The Vodacom foundation wants to donate school benches and desks. Other people gave generous donations and offered to seek more support for our project. Thank you so much for all your help!
We distributed free educational materials in various orphanages and schools in Kinshasa. The children and directors were happy to receive these materials, donated by “Activated Ministries US”. Once a year, we bring food to one of the orphanages, and this time we also gave them clothes, shoes and items that Anissa no longer needs such as her buggy, walker, play pen, baby toys and clothes.
In Prague, Lenka and Anissa visited old friends and found new friends and supporters. They gave a presentation of our work in Congo for a school in Pisek, 100 km from Prague. A local newspaper printed an article about their visit and they were invited to a school in Prague. Anissa fascinated the children, as they had never seen a small African child. They all wanted to take a photo with her and asked many interesting questions.
When Jos and Wolfgang landed inTshikapa, Guy from the SADR farm had arranged a meeting with two school directors who want to help us find good teachers. He also bought and delivered building materials for the construction of the school to the farm in Mushapo, such as iron rods for the foundation and pillars, and timber, nails and corrugated metal sheets for the roof, doors and windows. Jean, the manager of the farm on site, and his team brought the sand, gravel, cement and water to the construction site and started with the work. He organized a team of masons and is supervising the construction.
The schoolchildren were elated to see us again and enjoyed the gifts we brought them: stuffed animals, balls, snacks etc. We had meetings with the school committee and Chief Mbumba Ntumba to talk about the next steps. They are grateful for the school, because firstly, they had none until now, and secondly, this one will be different from those of the neighboring villages, where the children sit on tree branches or are squished together on the floor under a thatched roof that is partly washed away by the weather.
It is shocking to see under what conditions they are being taught. There are so many children with great potential if they would get a proper education. And that education is our goal! We want to do something enduring against this poverty and lack of proper care for countless children. Our school will be built on a firm foundation, with strong walls, a solid roof and fitted with proper desks and benches. In the two classrooms, 60 children will be taught in the morning and another 60 in the afternoon, a total of 120 pupils. We will ask for no school fees, contrary to the other schools in Congo.
We are very thankful to the German Embassy for the funding of the building and to the SADR farm for their logistical support. Michel is the organizer, Guy helps with important contacts and procurement of materials in Tshikapa, and Jean leads the team of construction workers on site, even when we are not there. It is a good feeling that we finally got started, but heartbreaking to see how many children are still running around without schooling. We would like to teach more of them but we need support for more buildings and the running of the school. It would be a blessing if you could help us gain other people’s help for this worthy cause.
                     
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