Education is at the heart of REVE Kandale’s efforts in Kandale. For education to be successful it must address the needs of the community and in turn the community must see the value in the opportunities provided. REVE Kandale has remained constant in its development of both the infrastructure to teach, and in its support of educational practices. The building of the primary school classrooms has anticipated the middle school classrooms, which in turn has led to the building of the high school classrooms. It is very encouraging to think that many students have followed the progress of the new classrooms as they graduate to each new level. The construction of the Multi-Purpose Education Center, including the Polyvalente meeting room, has allowed students to take their national exams in a formal setting that validates the process.
Ami du Livre
A year ago Colette began work on the very successful, Ami du Livre program. This program familiarizes pre-school children with books and it creates a positive attitude toward learning. The Ami du Livre program parallels the educational goals of the DRC government and prepares students for success through their entire education.
Exams d'État
Colette will be leaving for Kandale soon. Her departure has been brought forward as a result of a visiting trainer, Joseph Mange from Kinshasa. Joseph is originally from Mukedi, which is very close to Kandale. He has been working in eastern Congo, as the regional director for a USAID funded education project called ‘Sasa Tunasoma ’ or ‘Now We Can Read’. This program promotes early reading under Save the Children and is identical in many ways to Ami du Livre. RKF has recruited him as an expert to provide teacher training in Kandale similar to “Sasa Tunasoma”. He will be running a two week training session from August 14 -26. Matsoro Libenge Olivier, the provincial minister of education for the Kwilu 2 educational province in Idiofa, will be conducting the opening ceremony. There will be over 50 participants and they will represent a cross-section of teachers, principals and educational advisors from Kandale and the surrounding region. In a nutshell, the program is designed to educate primary school inspectors and principals about how to coach primary school teachers in reading and writing skills. They will be trained to implement specific educational goals and evaluate the success of those programs. This training is in line with the educational goals established by the DRC government for the academic years of 2024 through 2026. Developing a love for learning at an early age is a crucial part of the training.
Building the Tukuls
The educational training will start after the high school students complete their national exams. The exams have been delayed due to the strikes in the fall. After the educational training has been completed, ABCD sessions will start, and immediately thereafter the Women’s Football Tournament will begin. School will resume at the beginning of September. The summer break will be a month shorter to make up for the lost time. It will be a busy couple of months. With all the new development on the REVE Kandale compound, it has become a pivotal site for the region. The REVE Kandale team has been busy building three new tukuls in anticipation of all the new visitors. Presently it is caterpillar season and many of the guests can look forward to finding this delicacy with their meals. In addition, mango season is getting under way.
he truck carrying construction materials and solar power equipment arrived in Gungu on Wednesday. It is expected to arrive Thursday in Kandale. Merveille has organized a crew to unload the truck upon arrival wherein it will be taken to the river to collect stones and sand for the continued construction of the classrooms.
Three neighboring communities, Kashitu, Muwangi, and Kandale Mission were mobilized to bring red clay to REVE Kandale for the making of bricks.
As mentioned in the previous Communiqué, the roads have been undergoing much needed repair so hopefully Colette’s journey will be relatively uneventful. Please refer to our link on the REVE Kandale website, https://www.revekandale.org/education, for more information about our educational programs. We wish Colette and her team a safe and uneventful journey.
