Education in Amadi, DR Congo - Part 1

At the present time, and despite the unsettling conditions where most live in fear of another raid on their village, the program that Georges and his parish have already begun continues to help both children and young adults in Amadi. They sponsor 2 girls in primary school, 2 girls and 2 boys in high school, and 4 young women in superior school (college). Only those in primary school study in Amadi. The high school is in "Poko", a small city 85 km from Amadi. Isiro, which is the nearest city, 210 km away, is where the superior schools and University are located. But to arrive there, because of the really bad road conditions, people need one day in a car or motorbike (which most don't have), or two days on bicycle (the much more common mode of transportation in these parts).

I was interested in putting some faces and names with the kids and very curious to learn as much as I could about them, so I asked him if it would be possible to send a few photos of the kids who are participating. In order to receive the photos below, here's what had to happen, since Georges is temporarily in Italy studying and working with other parishes:

"I will have a "correspondent" in Congo. With a camera, he can go, take photos and informations we need. And from the nearest city which has internet - 210km but it needs one day of travel because of the roads - he can send me all that."

Aisance is 9 years old and from a poor family in the village. She is in her 3rd year of primary school in Amadi.

Jeanne is 11. She was taken from her mother who suffers from madness. She is her 4th year of primary school in Amadi, thanks to the sponsorship of this program.

In Congo, the government pays teachers very little, around US$60/month for the most qualified teachers in Amadi. For this reason, parents must pay an additional "contribution" each month to the teacher. This amounts to:
- $5 for 1 child in primary school for 1 month
- $10 for 1 child in high school for 1 month

For the 10-month scholar year, including registration fees ($15 for primary school and $30 high school), a child can study for:
- $65 in primary school
- $130 in high school

Rose Delingi, is 19 years old and has a 3-year old child. From a poor family, she got pregnant when she was only 15 years old because her family couldn't afford her studies and take care of her. Another man was helping her, until he discovered she was pregnant with his child. Desperate, she tried to abort, but was not successful. She was able to resume her studies last year and is now in her 3rd year of high school in Poko.

Mariam Kitete, 14 years old and the first girl from a family of 5 whose mother is not married. She is in her 1st year of secondary school in Poko.













Judoc, is an 18 year old orphan. He lost both his parents when he was 7 years old. He is in his 3rd year of high school in Poko.








Francoise Bandengbako, is 28. She had to quit secondary school at 16 when she became pregnant. When she had her baby, she began her nurse's studies for 3 years. For the last 2 years she has been working in Amadi's clinic. She is needed in the village for her nursing skills and so was sent to Isiro to further her studies.








Check back next week for the remaining 3 young adults being sponsored, what they are all doing themselves to contribute, and also what you can do to help...perhaps you'd like to sponsor a child?

About Georges…and what he’s doing to help the youth in Amadi, Congo

I met Georges when I first moved to Munich in July 2004 and he sat next to me in my first German language class, he was mein “Nachbar”. I was excited because I got to practice some of my really rusty French with him (yes, I know it was a German class). Anyway, we became good friends that summer and I was surprised to learn he was studying in Rome to become a priest!

I never actually knew any priests, at least not young and funny ones (he was about 25 at the time). He returned to Italy and eventually to Amadi to work with the young people in the only parish in the village. It was difficult to keep in touch – the nearest telephone or Internet was over 200 km away, a 6-hour car drive due to bad road conditions (2 days by bicycle which is the most common mode of transportation there). But he still managed to congratulate us on our marriage (“Hochzeit” in German) during this time and all the while I had no idea how bad things really were for him, his family and village, and the rest of the country. Things just kept getting worse.

An email from Georges in November 2006:

"Hi Kim,

I m very happy for u and Marco. Congratulations!

Yes, I m now in Congo. The situation is worse than I thought or wanted to believe. Anyway, it is my country. I have to stay and help my people.

U can continue to use the same email address. But I can read that only when I m in the nearest town…210 km away. Don’t worry if u don’t reach me. I would be for sure in my village.

Once more,

Congratulations for your Hochzeit.

Bye"

While I was finding my way in a foreign, but safe country, Georges was helping to start a program in Amadi for young boys and girls to continue their studies and give them hope for a better future. These boys and girls were, in varying degrees, affected by the ongoing conflict happening around them. Future posts will elaborate on these kids. In his own words, here is how he explains the program, first in 2006 when it first began and again in 2009:

For the Boys

2006: “Our idea is to be able to offer the young men of the village a place where they can gather together, learn some discipline or at least discover again the joy of living. Being part of a religious congregation, we can, in this sense, be of great help. In fact, from our position there it will be possible to have a very positive influence on these youths because they will be able to look at life in a different way. For this reason, we have decided to organize two soccer teams. We made this choice for these precise reasons: soccer will attract the greatest number of youths; it is the most loved sport and the games can be occasions of entertainment for the whole village. In fact, there are no entertainment opportunities for youth there – no movies, no theatres, nothing.”

2009: “We organized two teams of football / soccer according the division of the village in two areas. It is the best way to attract young people because football / soccer is the most popular sport in DRC. There is training twice a week and there is a match on Sundays. We had also social activities such as repairing roads. Generally, our aim was reached because, through football / soccer, we could guide many young boys known as impossible in the village. Some of them became more responsible, others went back to school.

Unfortunately, the equipment we bought two years ago is getting old because they are used so often, up to three times a month. And they still play barefoot. The equipment has to be renewed.”

For the Girls

2006: “The situation for the young women is extremely serious. Early sexual activity is a critical problem. The consequence is teenage pregnancy. These young women, not able to be supported by their parents, find it extremely difficult to care for their babies. Our idea is to create an educational center, or better, a training center for the girls. Specifically, we have decided to offer a training program in sewing and dressmaking. This will provide two advantages: the young women will learn a trade, and they will be able to earn enough to support themselves. But the purpose of this center is not limited only to this goal. It will also be a center for personal and social formation and education. This will be of great help for teenage mothers, both psychologically and socially. Additionally, education in life skills and sexuality will help prevent the type of problems they so often encounter. This will also serve as another effort in prevention against AIDS.

2009: “We also organized two football / soccer teams for girls. They have training once a week and play match twice a month on Sundays.

The situation for girls in Amadi – and also other regions of DRC – is very pathetic. A summary of life for a majority of girls is: to be born, to start school if possible to stop it because of economic problems or becoming prematurely pregnant by an irresponsible man who will abandon them, to do small economical activities just to survive, to wait for the second child from another man while wishing for an unlikely marriage to happen … and then to die (often of AIDS). And the life is passed away. IT CAN”T BE A LIFE.

It appears then clearly that the situation for girls requires urgent attention. That is why we wanted first to build a sewing center. But later we found it better to encourage them to study. Indeed, a girl who finishes high school in DRC can be a schoolteacher or make a better life for herself in other ways. For this reason, as well as for lack of funding, we bought just two sewing machines and helped only a few girls learn how to make dresses last year. However, this project of a sewing center will be very useful still if fully realized.”