On June 8th the last match of the Kandale Regional Tournament was played between Kitambwe and Malundu. Kitambwe was the winner. After weeks of intense competition, the final electrifying match was played. As the games moved passed the quarter finals and semi finals, the enthusiasm grew and grew. The crowds expanded to three thousand spectators with people climbing into the nearby trees for a better view.
The chief of Malundu village called a day off from field work and encouraged everyone to come and see the event. Colette described it as super intense and that everyone in attendance was jumping up in the air, screaming with tears of jubilation and in many cases tears of disappointment. The news of the match traveled all the way to the capital, Kinshasa, and several people have offered to sponsor their home teams for next year’s tournament.
It was as if the players were evoking the nations gathering for the World Cup in the Americas. Everyone is already thrilled that the Democratic Republic of Congo is in attendance for the first time in 52 years. The match in Kandale had been expanded to include 32 teams. There were five administrative sectors from two provinces, Kwilu and Kwango. Seven teams came from Mukoso sector some 75 km away. Malundu was one of the teams representing the distant province of Kwango. Many of the highlights were covered by Gungu TV.
Kandale is a small town, yet everyone opened their doors and yards to accommodate all the visitors. The community lined the streets with food stalls and other goods. The community has expanded beyond Kandale and people who became acquainted during the matches are now greeting each other on the roads to and from the competitions. All the lessons learned at the ABCD training was on full display. Tumba has been reflecting on the success of her restaurant and she has been evaluating how to better prepare for next year’s tournament. In addition to her home cooked meals, she came up with the idea of freezing orange flavored water that would both refresh the customer and cool them off in the warm afternoons. People were delighted by this new invention. She learned that while her beignets are popular, people prefer to eat bread with their tea. As a result she started the laborious process of making bread, that she learned from the ABCD training.
Students are finishing up their Exams D'États in the Polyvalente Room
Teacher Training is on the agenda for this coming August before school opens. In addition Colette is looking forward to continuing with the challenging work of translating educational materials from Lingala to Kikongo for grades 1 – 3. Both Joseph Mange and Colette have observed that students have very limited experience reading Kikongo in printed texts and as a result this slows down the progress of students. They will be making a concerted effort to create a reading environment with more signage in the classrooms and requiring families to read to their children at home in Kikongo.
News of the Regional Football Tournament in Kandale has traveled far and its impact has been significant. It is an event that unites a greater community; individuals can display their athletic abilities and dream of the national team; it brings a strong sense of pride to all the members who participate, including the organizers, the players, the referees, and the community that gets to observe the matches; and it creates dozens of stories that will hopefully last until the next year's tournament.
For several years this true chameleon has been standing guard outside the office in the moringa tree. He remains vigilant of all the activities and he approves. Presently he has no name... Revie?
