There has been a constant barrage of action photos from Eudes and Colette of the matches happening during the Fourth Regional Football Tournament in Kandale. The atmosphere is so exhilarating that one can almost feel the excitement 7,000 miles away, (DC to Kandale in a direct line). The teams are all assembled bursting with pride in their new jerseys and they are eager to demonstrate their skills to the assembled crowd. The first round of elimination in the regional football tournament has finished and the next round with 16 teams has just begun.
Barring a rainstorm, the football field fills with an enthusiastic crowd. There are often 2 to 3 thousand people crammed together to see the action and root for their favorite team. Many vendors circulate the crowd while the players exchange volleys from one goal to the other all to the sound of thunderous cheers.
Colette arrived in Kandale three weeks ago, several days before the matches started. She recounted two fierce rivalries between Mukoso Secteur vs. Mukanza Village and Kalombo vs. Malundu. Colette was completely knocked out by the caliber of the play, the intensity and the overall professionalism. She described the goalies as if they were acrobats flying through the air. This is the fourth regional tournament and with each competition the level of participation grows.
The success of these events is due in large part to the sportsmanship training as pre-requisite for participation in the tournament and careful planning in consultation with the local advisors committee. Planning included the selection of a professional referee from the national team, several days of training for the referees and presentations for all the team leaders on the FIFA rules and professional conduct. There is a greater confidence in how the matches are conducted and there are hardly any disagreements over the outcomes.
It is hard to imagine that just a few years ago this was just a casual patch of grass populated by grazing goats. It is has now been turned in to a regional spectacle with teams coming from as far away as 40 miles. Now two years later, four new classroom blocks sit adjacent to the well manicured field. People eagerly look forward to the gathering and meet up with distant relatives and to make new acquaintances.
As mentioned in a previous Communiqué, the community has taken advantage of this event by providing meals, beverages and a variety of services. Tumba has created a restaurant with tables and chairs. Her menu includes beans and rice, chicken, dried, smoked and frozen fish, cassava leaves, fufu, roasted peanuts, and of course beignets. It has been very successful. And according to Colette, her restaurant has inspired a marriage proposal from a young man smitten with a young diner.
In addition to the Tournament, the roof on the fourth block of classes is complete as well as the drop ceilings on both the third and fourth block. All four blocks are now occupied for Les Exams D’États, which will continue for the next month.
When the competitions are done for the day Colette finds herself working with a group of teachers that are translating the education manuals from Lingala to Kikongo. They are presently working on nine texts: the teacher guide, the student manual, and the student exercise books for for the first, second, and third grades.
They have recently completed one of the manuals. It is an enormous task, but once they have completed this work it will have major ramifications throughout the Bandundu region. Millions of Kikongo speaking students will have access to these materials. Colette has been very impressed with the dedication of the three teachers working on this project.
As the rainy season recedes and the dry season takes over for the next four months, the farmers are tilling their land and harvesting the remaining okra, eggplants and chilis. The antelopes emerge intermittently from the surrounding forest and Colette will be leaving in a few weeks. She is planning on returning in late August with the intention of installing windows and doors, smoothing out the walls for paint, and constructing stairs into the spaces. As always we value your generous support as the vitality of this community grows.
