REVE KANDALE

More than a decade ago, Colette Madishi Ramm had a dream that the community where she grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could be transformed through better education and protection of the environment. The vehicle for that transformation is REVE Kandale created in 2010 and registered in DRC in 2011 as a non-profit origination. In 2016, Colette and her husband Greg Ramm, founded REVE Kandale Foundation, a U.S.- based 501 (c)(3) organization that mobilize funds to promote a better life for the children of Kandale. The two organizations working hand-in-hand have built schools, planted trees, educated girls on feminine hygiene, and assist the Kandale community in many more projects including access to clean water and soccer tournaments for youth in Kandale. Our long-term goal is to make Kandale a center of educational excellence in Southwest Congo.

LOCAL LEADERSHIP

REVE KANDALE & REVE KANDALE FOUNDATION

1. REVE Kandale - REVE Kandale was founded in 2010 as a local self-help organization engaged in improving lives in Kandale, Kwilu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The organization focuses on:

   
   - Access to education
   - Access to Clean
   - Tree planting and environment protection
   - Youth development through sport
   - Women and Girls advancement

2. REVE Kandale Foundation (RKF) - is a US-based 501c3 non-profit organization founded in August 2016. RKF works in partnership with the local Réhabilitation de l’Espace Vert et des Écoles – REVE – and its more than 100 dues-paying community members to build a better future for the children of Kandale and improve their lives. The organization focuses on:
   - Fundraising based on local feedback on priorities
   - Strategic planning to support targeted initiatives

   Colette Ramm is a member of both organizations and maintains alignment and ensures effective management of funded projects.

LOGO

Designed in 2018 by the Rev. Vicki Fogel Mykles, the new RKF logo is a redesign of the REVE Kandale logo, guided primarily by its mission statement: Promoting equal access to education for all boys and girls through the creation of a safe and protective environment.

The new tag line: “Every Child. Every Dream” neatly encapsulates our goal that every child in the Democratic Republic of Congo deserves a chance to learn, grow, and dream.

The children under the tree are both learning (reading the books in their hands) and maybe dreaming…  Because, who doesn’t dream just a bit when reading something new?

The girl is the larger of the two figures.  She might even be an adolescent.  This is intentional as girls often are unable to complete their education due to cultural practices that place a low value on learning for girls.

The tree is frequently a symbol for growth, both intellectual and physical.  A tree provides a safe, shady, and friendly arbor for quiet contemplation, conversations, discussions, rest…  and dreaming.  As children in Kandale expand in knowledge and stature, this symbolic tree provides a solid backbone for their growing experiences.  So the children were melded into the trunk.

Trees are more than abstract symbols, however.  New trees are being planted in Kandale and surrounding villages in an intentional reforestation program to heal the landscape and provide nourishing and sustainable food for area communities.

Finally, both trees and people have roots that run deep in the places they call home.  The children of Kandale and its surrounding villages are the future of this region.  But there is more to their future than just a small school, village, or country.  Because of the current time and space they occupy in history, they are not children of a single geographic place.  They are children of the world.  The gifts they will eventually bring to the global stage will be interpreted through their uniquely African experiences and dreams.  

The lush African leaf canopies lent themselves to assuming the shape of the continent in which these children reside.  Their land floats above them as reminders of the value of their heritage and future contributions.

In the end, a logo’s job is to clearly interpret the goals of its organization.  An added bonus is a logo’s ability to call a viewer into deeper meaning.  What’s described above is what we see.  What others see in this may inspire different concepts and dreams.

What do you see for the children of Kandale?