On July 5th, three teachers began an arduous three-day journey to Kinshasa. Mado Matumba, Giselle Kumanda, and Khenda Gutshendja left Kandale in the early afternoon on foot and walked 20 km to find a motorcycle to take them to Kikwit. They are all teachers of the Ami du Livre program and they were sponsored by The REVE Kandale Foundation to attend a two week workshop. They found transport, but arrived too late in Gungu to drive on the dirt road to Kikwit. At 2 AM they started again on motorcycle, but they arrived too late for the 11 AM bus to Kinshasa. With some finagling by a local authority, they were able to catch the 2 PM bus out of town, but unfortunately the bus broke down 50 km outside of Kikwit and they had to wait all night for the bus company to send a replacement. They arrived late into the evening in Kinshasa and they were required to wait until the morning to leave the bus. Colette picked them up and without a moment to lose. They showered and hurried off to the training. A challenging experience to say the least.
In 1976 a program to teach pre-school teachers was started by Mme Heidi Kabangu Stahel, a Swiss national and member of CPK,( Communauté Presbytérienne de Kinshasa) in Kinshasa to facilitate the education of the young minds of DRC. The program was called “Les Gazelles”. REVE Kandale started a similar program called Ami du Livre, 5 years ago with the same purpose. The program in Kandale grows annually and as the students move through the higher grades their joy of learning dramatically improves their ability to learn and their overall success rate. In turn teachers need to be taught the best way to engage these young minds.
These three individuals had never been outside of Kandale before, and they were overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of the big city, including the enormous amount of people moving along the streets. Despite all the challenges, they immediately integrated with the other teachers attending the two week course. One of the big lessons presented was ‘learning while playing’. They created teaching aides using songs, crafting simple props and using paint to reinforce a variety of concepts. Another central point is, ‘how do children learn?’. They learn best with hands on experiences. After two weeks they returned to Kandale with a whole new enthusiasm and completely new understandings of teaching. Some of the candidates were interviewed by a local news station, that featured a very enthusiastic Khenda.
Colette will be returning toward the end of August with teacher training as her primary objective. She will be returning with a member of the Department of Education. As mentioned previously there has been a great push to translate the education books into Kikongo and the education attaché will be explaining all the nuances of the education books. While each stage has its own educational concepts, they essentially all work together to develop a coherent education.
The dry season started several weeks ago and the members of the REVE Kandale community have been taking the time to make repairs and take stock of the work ahead before the rainy season starts in again.
Que la terre de nos ancêntres lui soit légère. May the earth rest lightly upon her. On Monday, we received the news that Colette's Mother, Mama Rebecca Mbatuvua Mputu, had passed away in the comfort of Colette and Greg's home in Kinshasa. I had the great fortune of traveling with her to Kandale in the fall of 2024 and shared many glasses of palm wine with her during the month that we were there. She was a highly respected member of the Kandale community and I can't remember a day where she was not holding court with guests from some part of the region. It is in fact these extensive connections that helped REVE Kandale organize the community and facilitate a consensus on a broad range of issues. She held court several times a day, entertaining newly weds, intervening in local disputes, and enjoying local gossip. I would often hear her laughing with her friends as they shared some story in the village. She was loved by all who knew her and she will be greatly missed. My deepest sympathies go out to Colette and Greg. Kwenda mbote, Mama. - Douglas Schultz
