The students have recently returned to the hallowed institution of learning, but not for learning per se. Due to the pandemic all the National exams were canceled in the spring and it is only now in August that they have been able to organize the student exams. Teachers and staff have been working tirelessly to equip all members of the school community with masks. Some 11 adults took up the task to make over 250 masks. The masks were sewn with materials left over from the Days For Girls' Rockville Chapter. Now that the masks have been completed, the teachers and staff have been busy oiling the sewing machines and tightening the belts to prepare for the students National exams on September 5th. We wish them luck.
This is not the best time for the students to take their exams as it is also the time to collect that valuable crop known as caterpillars. Yum!!! It is a highly sought after delicacy from Kikwit to Kinshasa and thousands of individuals are mobilized to collect this bounty while it is in abundance. For the members of Kandale it is a 100 mile journey that can take almost a week to make. In large part it is the younger members of the community that make this trek under the guidance of several adult chaperones. Often times many neighboring communities will make the journey together for safety. These young caterpillar pickers will be away from home for at least a month. There is a very high incentive to make this journey as it can pay for their tuition, uniforms, and books for school; and with any luck provide some extra money for basic necessities. In anticipation of the journey, mothers work very hard pounding millet to make fufu to sustain their children for the weeks ahead.
Like any gold rush or in this case, bug rush, the road is fraught with a variety of characters, many who seek to profit from the labors and inexperience of the young entrepreneurs who are eager to support their family and their academic future. Buyers from Idiofa offer to provide materials up front such as soap, salt and pots and pans with the intention of full payment upon return. Unfortunately due to inflation, the agreed upon price usually increases markedly in the month they are gone. There are others on site who offer to buy the caterpillars, but they set the price, and transporting the caterpillars the hundred miles back creates other challenges. Once they arrive at the harvest location the young people form groups of five or more with several going out to collect the caterpillars while others dry the caterpillars over gentle fires. Many will accept dried fish or makayabu, a dried cod, as payment as it will hold its value upon return, unlike cash. This is a scenario seen all around the world. The wild areas planted in Kandale almost ten years ago are now seeing the return of the caterpillars, but it is only a drop in the bucket by comparison. With the return of the caterpillars to the village, REVE Kandale is continuing to see a ‘return’ on a its commitment to the agricultural development of the community. Look for more Communiqués about palm grubs and termites in the near future...just kidding.
Here is a video from Youtube that demonstrate the harvesting of the caterpillars in DR of Congo although it is a little different for the people of Kandale.
Another way that students contribute to their tuition is by carrying rocks to school. As seen in the picture below, all the students are wearing masks and supporting the rocks on their heads while Newton takes their picture. “C’mon Newton. Hurry up! These rocks are heavy!” These rocks will go toward the construction of the new primary classrooms.
Recently a neighboring Chief, Chef Musoso, from Kondo County went on the radio in Gungu to incite the members of his community to look toward Kandale and aspire to create a thriving community like Kandale. The work in Kandale is inspiring the whole region!
As always we wish to thank Newton for all his photos and keeping Kandale in our hearts and thoughts.
Colette wants to extend her deepest gratitude toward those who responded to the recent fundraising appeal. With the new contributions and all the previous donations, REVE Kandale has raised enough money to start building the foundations for the seven primary school classrooms. As soon as the engineers are given the go ahead to venture beyond Kinshasa, the work can begin.
