Seven classrooms now have roofs. They come just ahead of the rainy season and the return of some 500 lower school students who will fill them with their enthusiasm for knowledge…or maybe just their enthusiasm. REVE Kandale has received donations from many sources including our regular donors and a new partner, Darnestown Presbyterian Church, to complete the roofs, ceilings and floors for the seven classrooms. This stage of development has been able to move toward completion including the purchase of doors, blackboards, and roofing material. There is still substantial work to be done including the construction of 18 more classes and the renovation of six more. On October 4th school will commence once again, and the crowded conditions the students and teachers have had to endure, will finally be remedied. New classrooms, new desks, new blackboards, and a new attitude toward learning. There are still many supplemental materials needed such as access stairs and windows to prevent the goats from poking their heads in during lessons.
The rainy season is late and the people of Kandale have been undergoing a water crisis. The lack of water has required the community to work tirelessly to supply the construction crew with the needed materials. Many hands and many many days of carrying water up from the ravine and sand from the banks of the Kwilu River six kilometers away, to facilitate the mixing of cement to add a topical coat to the walls of the new classrooms. This does not take into consideration the water they need for their own basic needs. In addition to the water crisis, the construction crew uncovered the base of an enormous tree in the middle of the foundation. It took two weeks of hard work to remove it before construction could continue.
An old Congolese saying is, ‘a tree without roots is firewood’. Colette is en rooute to DRC and there is much to do. The roots must be nourished. Colette will be having many meetings during her visit. In particular, she will be meeting with several women’s groups to discuss the developments ahead. Two major focuses will be the renovation of the girls’ dormitories and a return to planting trees. Colette will be celebrating 10 years of community development with REVE Kandale. There is much to celebrate: the many classrooms and structures, including the Multi-Purpose building; the expansion of the sewing program; the purchase of the brick making machine; the women’s program supporting the young girls in the community; the purchase of two large water tanks; the development of the soccer program and the epic soccer/ football tournament; the garden, the planting of trees and the creation of the ‘wild space’; two solar panels; and the support of the community in general.
Saint Mark Church and other private donors have contributed to the funding needed to complete the work on the dormitories. The renovation will provide quarters for an additional 40 girls, bringing the total to 80 students. The sewing program is packed with interested students but there is very limited space to house them. Colette will help with the difficult task of selecting those students with the greatest need such as girls coming from far away, those with special needs, and those with limited means. The roofs are in dire need of rehabilitation as are the ceilings and floors. The goal is to have the dormitories completed by November so that the girls will have a stable living arrangement, which will allow them to stay healthy and focus on their studies.
Colette will also be turning her hand to the development of the orchard and gardens as well as the ‘wild spaces’ in order to nurture both humans and the growing native species. There has been a great deal of discussion about planting various types of palm trees, including the samba palm, which provides palm nuts for palm oil, and the raffia palm, from which the palm fronds can be turned into a variety of furniture items, including beds.
Lastly there has been a return to training members of the community in a variety of skills, including tree planting, and construction. COVID has made the journey from Kinshasa to Kandale almost impossible, but now the journey is somewhat less arduous. An engineer will be arriving from Kinshasa to teach people the techniques of welding, brick making, masonry, carpentry, and rebar construction. The Head of the Kandale Parish has said that the youth are very excited about the training and job opportunities that REVE is creating.
As always, we owe a debt of gratitude to Newton for all the photos. The Communiqué succeeds because of the visual stories that he captures and shares with us.
This is the 20th edition of the Kandale Communiqué.
If you want to go back and read any of them from the past two years+ please go to: https://www.revekandale.org/newsflash
And at the end of these postings, there are more postings under, ‘older posts’ or:
https://www.revekandale.org/newsflash?offset=1601840580713 and
https://www.revekandale.org/newsflash?offset=1572036060591
The story continues – M. Gimbombi
