The Games Continue

The Games have been in full swing with 18 teams fiercely competing. The community is once again fully engaged in the passion of football. It has been two years since the last competition when everything went on hold due to COVID. Many elements have brought the return of the games. Obviously it was the excitement of the community to see the games return, but it was also a result of the ABCD meetings that ignited the idea of bringing opportunities to Kandale.

Everything is interconnected. Now that the well has been dug and the water is readily available, the thousands of people who are visiting the mission can quench their thirst, whether for the tournament, for the school and new classrooms, for medical care, or for other business opportunities like the internet connection at the REVE Kandale office. The two grinders are now fully installed and the people of the village have been grinding flour to prepare dishes for the hungry crowds. The local team has been trained in operating the grinders and also to perform routine repairs on the mechanics controlling the solar panels.

Other activities continue in Kandale such as the regular meetings of "Ami du Livre". This will be showcased in the next Communiqué. It is a busy time in Kandale, filled with many positive changes. Thank you for your support in making all these programs successful.

Let The Games Begin

Communication continues in the form of photos.

 Colette has shared that, last Sunday there was a great celebration at church about the water. They also announced that starting this past Monday, there would be a charge for the water: FC200 per bidon (that's 5 cents). Colette reports there's been no slow down in people coming for water. 

Also the grinder is in constant use and the back up is ready to go.  They need one more junction box to enable both grinders to function simultaneously. Training on grinder maintenance is complete, and solar training is almost complete.  

The ABCD training has ended, which will dramatically reduce the level of activity and number of people around.

The tournament begins today, May 21st. We wish all the teams success!

We will continue to update you as we receive more information from Colette.

Refinement

Now that water has been divined, Colette continues
to report the newest events happening in Kandale,

"ABCD training went really well. We started on May 1 and concluded yesterday on May 10. Some participants from Kalonda, Kinshasa, and Aten Idiofa left yesterday evening but others from Mukedi, Kamayala , Kahemba and Ndjoko Punda will leave today. Exams d’état started so we had to continue the training under the shade of the mavu tree in the REVE Kandale compound so students could use the multipurpose center."

"To tell the truth the students and delegate felt like they own the multipurpose center. They just came and occupied the building without asking us if we were done students looked so happy and proud of the conditions in which they take their exams. As usual I always hear from those delegates who comes here for the first time and how impressed they are with the multipurpose center and tukuls. Unfortunately the tukuls were full so there was no room for the delegates."

"People are coming from far away 7-12km on bicycles or motorcycles to fetch water. They are calling it water of life. it is amazing. Solar training continues. It was extended to allow time to buy the right circuit breakers in Kinshasa. Overall it is going well. The training on composting and continuing gardening is still going on well. I will send photos. I brought in Newton to help with photos and he’s doing a fantastic job. Without him we would not have managed. He camped out all night long with the drilling team until they found water at 3.59am and he took photos."

"Paint job started today May 14, 2023. James from Uganda wrote, he has arrived safely home. Tournament starts on May 20. The teams are excited. We are cutting down from 22 to 16 teams."

 

We will continue to update you as we receive more information from Colette.

Eureka!!!

With the drill operational, Colette has sent these words and images,

"We have successfully drilled a borehole and water has been flowing out of ground since 3.50am. It is amazing! The church is organizing a special gathering to dedicate the borehole to God almighty who makes everything possible. People from neighboring villages came even earlier than those at the mission, to see it. "

"The most moving testimonies was my father. He has not taken a bath in quite a few years due to water crisis. He is in his 90s and has become unable to go to the river. Today he came over and ask to draw a bucket of water. He took a full bath and was happy. It made me cry."

 

John Sullivan, a REVE Kandale Board Member, created this video montage of the celebration happening in Kandale. It is glorious!!! Enjoy!!!

 

https://vimeo.com/824189112

 

We will continue to update you as we receive more information from Colette.

The Arrival of the Drill

Colette has arrived safely in Kandale. She has hit the ground running.

She writes in a text:

"It has been very busy. The roads are very bad so the truck with the drilling equipment was delayed. Thankfully, it arrived yesterday and work has begun this morning.”

The training for the grinding mills and solar panels is going very well. The technician from Burkina Faso is excellent. There is high self esteem among the staff being trained. They have learned how to disassemble and reassemble the grinder as well as operate it efficiently. It is beautiful to see. 

The environment team is also doing well. They are preparing the soil and site for composting. There are many moving pieces. I have loads of photos to send but the internet is slow. Everyone needs water but rain has not fallen."

 

We will continue to update you as we receive information from Colette.

The First Week in Kinshasa

Colette arrived safe and enthusiastic in Kinshasa. Here is her first email:

Greetings from boiling hot Kinshasa.

Here are some photos of the trip. I spent yesterday and today shopping. I am almost done. We bought everything for environment and gardening projects and all teacher’s kits and supplies for ABCD training. Meantime, the printer copier arrived from France and my mother went to the shipping agency to collect it (see photo of printer being carried on the head). It is very hot. Tomorrow I got to go out again to buy batteries and solar panels needed for solar energy training. Both Burkina Faso and Uganda technicians will arrive on Friday. We will do minor shopping and pack cars to leave on Saturday morning. All is going well.

This is the 30th Communiqué. The intentions of the Communiqué are to keep our community informed of the great progress being done in Kandale. Thank you for your generous donations and support. Matondo Mingi !!! (Thanks a lot!!!). We wish Colette great success on the next arduous leg of her journey.

Looking Forward

Colette left for the Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday. As she anticipated, the journey has required the organization of a ‘million’ different elements from simple things like mosquito repellant, vaccines, reading glasses, and transferring files onto a drive… to the coordination of a very large itinerary with many moving parts. She has been preoccupied to say the least. Colette will be there for two months. In keeping with its commitment to provide fresh water for the community, REVE Kandale will be coordinating the drilling of a borehole for water. A team from Uganda will arrive and supervise a Congolese drilling company that will be drilling the borehole. Once the borehole has been completed the team will determine the availability of water, the flow rate and at what depth they can find a reliable source. With that information in hand, they will plan for the second phase, to begin developing the infrastructure including the size of the pump, the storage tanks, and the distribution point.

ABCD training will recommence with the second half of Community Centered Development and then proceed on to the final part, Entrepreneurship. Members from the distant cities, Idiofa and Kahemba are expected to attend. There will be solar panel training to educate individuals on basic repairs and maintenance of the growing array of solar panels. A team from Burkina Faso will be arriving to bring the second flour grinder online with the solar panels. In addition, there will be training on how to use and maintain the flour grinders.   Colette has packed many teachers’ kits to help teachers organize their lessons and improve the quality of education. Each kit contains a lesson planner, several pens, reading glasses, (if needed), chalk, an extra notepad, a gradebook, a ruler, and a small bag.  Another important item on the list is to finish painting the primary school.

Of great excitement for the community will be the return of the regional soccer tournament. 22 teams will be competing this year. The event will take place from May 20th to June 10th.  The first phase of the tournament required committee members to travel to the many teams that had participated in the previous tournament. During those meetings they asked for feedback about the last tournament and if they would be interested in participating again.   All the teams were very enthusiastic.  One of the major suggestions was to improve the field. This will require the organizing of the community to relevel the field. Another important part of the tournament will be to train 8 coaches to officiate the event. They need to be fully educated about FIFA rules. Prior to the match there will be a very important meeting in Kandale with the representatives from each team. They will discuss the upcoming event and what the expectations will be for the tournament. They will be apprised of the rules and the schedule for the matches. Many of the teams are from villages with very limited resources so many of them will not have uniforms or even athletic shoes. REVE Kandale wants to again thank Kick for Nick and Dwight Short for helping to fund this event.

For Colette the next two months will go by very quickly. It looks like it is going to be a very productive visit. Kwenda mbote, Mama.

Water Water Everywhere

Like many places across the globe, Kandale has been inundated with rain and flooding. The cisterns are full, but it is not potable water unless you filter it and boil it. People still need to make the trek down to the spring for drinking water. Unfortunately, the path has become treacherous due to the trail being washed out and becoming muddy. Large tree roots are now exposed and the sand near the water source has turned into quicksand. The community has been doing an excellent job organizing itself and trying to shore up the path. The head preacher called everyone together to plead with them not to let their children descend into the valley.  

Presently there are no immediate solutions. Other access to water is 5 – 8 kilometers away in neighboring villages and there is some discussion about using bicycles in a ‘bicycle’ brigade to carry water from those towns. However, the challenge in making this happen, is finding enough bicycles locally to hire and to negotiate an affordable fee with bicycle owners to make it affordable for everyone, especially elderly people with no income.

Presently there are no immediate solutions. Other access to water is 5 – 8 kilometers away in neighboring villages and there is some discussion about using bicycles in a ‘bicycle’ brigade to carry water from those towns. However, the challenge in making this happen, is finding enough bicycles locally to hire and to negotiate an affordable fee with bicycle owners to make it affordable for everyone, especially elderly people with no income.

The REVE Kandale Board has been meeting and discussing the need for providing a stable source of drinking water for the community. It is presently the number one concern. They are communicating with other organizations with expertise in water projects such as Water Mission to determine the best approach to drill and create a system to withdraw the water.  All these plans take a great deal of time and money to organize and enact.

Recently Colette has organized a reading, writing and basic mathematics course for people who never had the opportunity to attend school.  The group is called ‘AMI DU LIVRE’ or Book Lovers. The group meets to look at books in the library and play vocabulary hunting games as a way to promote reading and a love of books. This is a way to normalize reading which has not been part of the general culture.  Market Day has created the desire for people to be able to read and write price tags, to take orders, to make plans, and to learn how to tally up the day’s earnings. 

In a town with five languages, Kipende, Kikongo, French, Kilunda, and Lingala, it is important to return to basic language skills. It is Colette’s intention for people to gather in the evenings and practice these basic math and language skills. There have been several meetings so far, one of which Colette attended via Zoom. The third module of ABCD is focusing on microfinance and together with these lessons, the community will become more empowered.

Happy New Year!!!

Munanyi wabonga !!!
or Happy New Year !!! in Kipende.

Mama Tumba, Head of Tree Care and Deputy Custodian

A primary school student extending his reach to learn a third language.

The New Year is a time to look toward the future and to take stock of the past. Often, it all comes down to the simple things, the successes, the challenges... For the people of Kandale, it is putting glass in the windows of the primary school and latches on the doors, and building stairs leading up to the open doorways.  The formidable task of building the walls and constructing the roof has come and gone. Teachers can now focus on the task of educating the new minds that are sitting before them and not worry about goats jumping through the open windows. 

REVE Kandale Staff Members with Steve from Kikwit and Macaire from Burkina Faso shaking hands

In the garden the children are being taught the basic principles of economics and supply and demand. It is the rainy season, and the three cisterns are full of water, but in a few more months the trek down to the spring will resume, but that is still months away. Discussions continue on the best course of action for drilling for water. 

Economics 101 with veteran teachers  Khenda and Azita

Many of the crops have reached maturity and the grains can now be ground with the new flour grinders. Market Day is flourishing, and people are arriving from the surrounding areas to purchase produce and other goods that have appeared. With the lessons from the ABCD presentation, positive ideas for the community are shared from shaded gatherings to cooking pots. 

Glaziers installing glass in the Primary School windows

More and more areas have been lighted thanks to all the new solar panels and friends can linger a little longer in the evening and dream about the upcoming soccer tournament. The girls at school have a safe place to sleep and a new place to prepare their meals.

Papa Kitangwa is back in Kandale to provide sewing training.  He is checking all the machines one by one for a tune-up and making repairs where needed. So far, all the machines are in good shape, except for a few minor repairs. Once the machines have been looked over, he will meet with the Lycee leadership to set-up a training schedule for the coming year.

REVE Kandale Staff Members

Children see the changes and are beginning to feel connected to the larger world. It may not be a rapid change, but it is constant and positive. We truly thank you for all your support this past year. You have made a tremendous difference!

RKF Appeal - Water is Life

Dear Friends,

Clear, fresh water. Most of us take it for granted. In Kandale, fetching water is a necessary daily chore that every family faces. Imagine how your day would be different if you didn’t have clean water running from the tap.

Although water is plentiful in Kandale in nearby rivers and streams, collecting it requires a long, treacherous walk down and back up a steep embankment, sometimes several times a day, lugging 25-liter jugs of water. This chore is usually given to children, especially girls, and it eats away at their time for learning and for play, and negatively impacts their overall health and development.

During the past two years, REVE Kandale, with the support of various donors, purchased and installed three large cisterns that collect rainwater off the roof of the multi-purpose education center.

While the cisterns are a great help for part of the year, they do not provide drinking water and they are quickly emptied during the annual dry season.

In a recent survey, the head of nearly every Kandale household that participated said the family did not have enough water to meet daily needs. That is not surprising. Kandale residents use about 15 liters of water per day. The United Nations estimates that between 50 and 100 liters per person per day are needed to ensure that most basic needs are met. Americans use more than 300 liters per day. Further, and even more worrisome, every household said the lack of water impeded its ability to eat.

 Will you help us reach our goal to bring clean water to Kandale by installing a borehole and solar-powered pump? Your end of year donation will support the work of REVE Kandale and ensure clean water becomes a reality.

We are grateful to those of you who recently contributed to the success of REVE Kandale Foundation’s first ever online auction or donated already this year. Your support is a message of hope to everyone in Kandale.

Join us on this journey to support the vibrant and proud community of Kandale. It is a true partnership across continents and together we know we can make a difference.

 Sincerely,

Julie Martel
Board President