With the Winter Olympics in full swing and the World Cup to commence this summer, the community in Kandale has joined suit and begun the process of hosting the 4th regional football match. There is so much to be organized before the match begins. This year’s emphasis is to reach out to those communities that have been previously underrepresented in the competition. A committee has been organized and teams have been sent out far and wide to promote the event. Eudes and his team have been received as if they were ambassadors from an exotic country with great fanfare and celebration.
One of the big challenges is to limit the number of teams to 32 as there is so much interest. Presently the committee has decided that it will be on a first come first serve basis. The first teams to submit the participation fee will be first to be included. As the committee prepares the overall operation, there is a great need for jerseys to identify each of the different teams.
The Ami du Livre program continues to expand and provide preschool education to children from 3-5 years old. Several of the teachers recently traveled to Gungu for several days to observe classes, teaching techniques, and learn how the instructors organize their lessons. The teachers who attended were incredibly positive about the experience and have begun implementing the new ideas in Kandale. The Ami du Livre program began very humbly with the intention of exposing children to books and reading and the importance of an education. The program has expanded over the last several years and the attendance has tripled. The parents have been very supportive of this program, often helping with the reading at home.
Béa Kabisa, the Master Gardener, is on the left tending to the eggplants.
In little over a month three board members will be traveling to Kinshasa and then on to Kandale. There are many documents to organize prior to leaving and numerous vaccines required to anticipate any adverse health exposures. In addition to the board members, James Kabunga will be returning from Uganda. He will be evaluating the efficiency of the solar panel installation and determining if there are any needed repairs. He will also assess how to improve the power grid and to facilitate the use of additional laptops, lighting and other electrical needs including the installation of an autoclave in the local hospital for the sterilization of equipment. While in Kinshasa the board members will be visiting a Bonobo preserve, about an hour from Kinshasa. Bonobos have been in the news of late with the observation of one of their members, Kanzi, (who has unfortunately passed away), and his ability to ‘pretend’. He was also very adept at sign language with vocabulary of over 350 words and an understanding of several thousands.
Speaking of animals, one of the REVE goats recently gave birth to a young female kid. She is in the excellent care of Ilunga Ilunga. She does not have a name as of yet, but ‘Lunch’ will not be one of them. We wish the football committee, patience and perseverance and we wish our team heading to Kandale lots of success.
The next Communiqué will be hijacked by the visiting Board Members. We eagerly await their impressions of all the new developments in Kandale. Bon Voyage!!!
