Happy New Year!!! Every year is full of promises and challenges. Thanks to your ongoing support the solar powered water pump has been installed and the foundation for the first block of high school classes has been constructed. The REVE Kandale team in Kandale continues to keep all the programs up and running.
The photo above includes growing corn and peanuts, the chaperone of the girl's dormitory, Dido Zunga and his wife, and the immaculate grounds of REVE Kandale
Maintaining all the grounds and preventing the jungle from encroaching is a full time job, especially during the rainy season. The people of Kandale are in the middle of the rainy season and everyone is busy managing their crops to sustain them through the next dry season. It is a process that has continued through many generations. The rainy season also provides a variety of locally sourced plants and mushrooms to supplement the standard diet.
Colette will be returning to Kandale in March. Prior to her arrival a truck will be transporting cement, lumber and tin to assemble the roof for the first block of classes. Frederic and Olivier will be directing the crew from Kikwit in the building of the new roof, as well as supervising the original crew in the digging of the foundation and building the walls for the second block. Depending on the timing, the roof for the second block will be installed as well.
Even though the construction has paused, many individuals continue to collect large rocks to build the foundation for the second block of classes. In addition, several people are busy breaking rocks to ensure enough gravel is on hand to mix into the cement for the columns and roof supports. Another crew is busy making the needed bricks. The bricks require clay and cement, which requires more people to walk down into the ravines a half-mile away to collect the raw material. Upon arrival, the truck will be repurposed to gather sand and rocks down by the Kwilu River. There are many many moving parts that require a constant momentum and vision so that when the construction crew breaks ground all the pieces are in play.
Colette will be busy with preparations for the first ever Girls Soccer Competition on June 8th! Presently there are 16 villages registered to compete, with room for 6 more. Each village must pay a registration fee of $20 to ensure their commitment. With the registration fee each team receives a soccer ball to practice for the big match.
A Committee of 8 people meets regularly to discuss the details. Leon Gisupa is the president and he convenes all the meetings. Leon is a former student of Mama Kanemu, the aunt of Dwight Shorts who is a major supporter of the soccer program in Kandale. Several of the members serve as recruiters who venture out to the local villages and observe potential teams. In March training will begin for the referees. In the past Congolese businessmen from Kandale have donated enough jerseys for all the teams. It goes along way to generate excitement for the event.
An outgrowth of this event is the potential for local entrepreneurs to set up stalls and sell food and refreshment. Tumba has been busy refining her recipe for beignets.
Later in the spring ABCD will be presenting ideas for local development with a focus on the upcoming event. This competition will be even more exciting with the availability of water and grinders to prepare the flour. It will eliminate the stress of traveling down to the spring for water and having to prepare the flour by hand. The water pump and four grinders are gifts that keep on giving.
And finally, Ami Du Livre is a program that continues to support the young minds of the community. Colette started the program in 2015, but officially named it in 2022. It has become a multi-faceted learning experience for primary school kids. Matumba Madeleine, (seen above), oversees the program and she encourages the children to come in to the library and become familiar with the available literature. They get to draw in coloring books and attend storytelling sessions.
One of the fascinating elements of this experience is that they begin to learn Kikongo, their second language, both as a spoken and written language. There are no texts written in their mother tongue of Kipende other than the Bible. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has begun to introduce education programs for pre-school children and Ami Du Livre is right in line with that goal.
The REVE Kandale Community wishes you a joyous and prosperous New Year. We are grateful for the generosity of our donors and all the individuals that work behind the scenes to make this program successful. On that note our appreciation goes out to Eudes for keeping us connected with his excellent photos.
