It is a perspective from 300 miles out in space. This past fall Google Earth captured new images of
Kandale and the photos demonstrate all the changes on the ground just in the past two years. To better view what is happening on the ground, go to:
https://earth.google.com/web/@-6.04633159,19.34565527,792.54766027a,702.1720014d,35y,0h,0t,0r
All the new structures are identified in the map below:
A. The first block of classrooms built for the primary school.
B. 12 acres of fruit trees and medicinal trees.
C. The Multi-Purpose Building which houses the Sewing Program, the Library, a National Examinations space, and REVE Kandale Office space. The building is also used for community meetings. In October, 2019, two 5,000 liter poly tanks were installed at the multi-purpose building as part of our rainwater catchment system.
D. The church.
E. The CARITAS Idiofa, World Bank funded primary school classrooms, office buildings and latrines.
F. The Hospital and Maternity Facility, (where Mama Charlotte works).
G. The two newly rehabilitated girls’ dormitories are located south of the Multi Purpose Building.
In the projected map for 2020, just above, the site of the new classrooms has been indicated in light blue: the four classrooms will be built just north of the present primary classrooms and the three classrooms will be in between. Hopefully when the Google Earth satellite updates the images of Kandale, these structures will be completed and brimming with enthusiastic students.
The other light blue rectangle toward the bottom, is where Robert Minzadi has begun work on a 60m X 25m nursery with the help of the local REVE Kandale team and members of Kandale community. The site that the nursery is being built on has been protected against bushfires and general agriculture for the past 10 years as part of the REVE Kandale environmental protection campaign, and as a result the soil has become very fertile. Local women, participating in the project, have been given seeds and are being trained as to how to plant a successful garden. The women will be able to keep the vegetables that they grow and in addition, part of the harvest will be given to REVE Kandale to share with the elderly and vulnerable members of the community. Once the soil is established, new funds will be designated for the purchase of saplings to supplement the present orchard including coconut palms, historic orange and mango trees, and the trees that brings caterpillars.
Absent from the map above are the two former high schools, 1 and 2 in the red squares. (1) collapsed in 2017 and (2) during Colette’s last visit in October 2019. Both came down in a serious thunderstorm.
For this Communiqué we are very excited to introduce Konda Nyigisa Louis. He is the gentle giant of all that is good with REVE Kandale. Konda studied with the Jesuits and as Prefet for Kandale, he set an excellent example for the many young people under his care. Colette describes him as a very poised and even-tempered man who never gets upset, very important qualities when working with bureaucracies. Konda is a passionate reader and the main impetus behind creating the library. When Colette was growing up in Kandale, books were in short supply. In school she had to copy word by word from the only textbook the teacher had, but Konda brought books to their imagination. Every summer they looked forward to having Konda visit from Kikwit . He would tell glowing stories about the books he had read and the fascinating things that were happening in places like Paris, Oslo, and New York. One story could last a month because Konda adapted the story to their own life in Kandale, and the children’s imaginations would travel to all these places, on a train, on a plane or maybe spend the night in a hotel next to a bandit.
Konda was the first coordinator of many of the projects that have taken place in Kandale. He has been the original team leader for the 20 REVE Kandale staff members and the brains behind all the project logistics. He was instrumental in building the first six classes in Kandale. In addition, he travelled to Kikwit and Kinshasa to coordinate the purchase and transport of the poly tanks and the materials needed for the installation. More recently he coordinated the transport of the cement from outside Gungu to Kandale when the truck broke down. Not bad for a man who will be 69 this fall. Konda is an invaluable member of REVE Kandale and our progress is a testament to his graciousness and his tenacity.
and now introducing a new feature: Colette's Corner
Sunday February 16th, Colette and Greg were invited by Roland Frenck to spend the morning with Reverend Neill Morgan and the Parish members of Darnestown Presbyterian Church, which has supported RKF since 2017. After an initial meeting and presentation to the Mission Ministry Team, Colette and Greg were invited to attend the worship wherein they were given a very generous check of $3,000. After the ceremony Colette and Greg met the many members of the congregation who had contributed to the building of the schools. Colette sends many many thanks to Roland Frenck, Jan Summers, the Rev. Neill Morgan and DPC congregation as a whole for the opportunity to share a wonderful morning together and for extending your love, your hospitality and your generosity to her and the community in Congo. The $3000 from DPC will buy 200 additional bags of cement on top of the 450 we have already purchased toward building of the seven new classrooms.
Colette will be travelling to Congo at the end of April to Congo, to take part in a Seminar organized by the Africa Leadership Coaching Network and to oversee the work in Kandale.
