Ending Extreme Poverty in the Congo

Books Are Still Needed

I was shocked when I visited one of the main sources for text books in a Congo provincial capital.  I guess I was expecting my neighborhood bookstore.

Books is key to the education process.  Most of us would agree.  BUT imagine a school with less than one book per child.  That's the norm in the Congo.  It is even worst in rural Congo.

The book problem seems to be an easy fix.  Just get books into the schools.  However, the problem is not that simple.

Remember the law of supply and demand.  Enough reasonably priced books are not available.  Multiple and varied languages make the supply and demand even more loop-sided.  Distribution and storage are also problematic.

Finally, paper books are becoming passe.  Alternate forms of books in digital format are the next wave.  In the end, books are still need to perfect the education system.

Improvising

Every avid sports player have the tools of their trade.  A baseball player will have a ball and glove.  A football player will have a football.  A tennis player will have a racket and a can of balls.  An a golf will have a set a clubs and balls.

One of the things we noticed in rural Congo, avid sports player still have a love of the game.  But they did not have the tools of the sports. 

Even schools did not have sporting equipment.  There were no soccer balls, nets, or uniforms.  But the students still had a love of the sport.  They just improvised.

The Older School and The Old School

In rural Congo, it's hard to find an older school.  The older schools are really usable.  Most of schools are inhabitable. 

An old schools is a strong wind or hard rain away from an older school.  The old school can become the older school overnight or in an afternoon.

But there is a difference between an older school and an old school.  In the future, we will have a new vinyl school.  This new school will last longer the old school. 

Hope

In the past, we (Congo Helping Hands) have purchased Flip video cameras for the doctor at the hospital and the headmaster of the girls school.   But today, I was inspired to start a film project at the Bulape High School.  It will be interesting to see what two rural Congolese high schoolers would capture about their life.

My inspiration came from watching 11 short films produced by the high schoolers at the Heartland Film Festival.  The winner's film highlighted the suffering on a young boy in Haiti after the earthquake.  This year theme was hope.  And next year's theme is courage.  Hope and courage are essential survival skills for my rural poor high schoolers in Congo. 

Heartland Truly Moving Pictures | Announcing the Winners of Heartland’s First High School Film Competition.

Heartland Truly Moving Pictures announced the winners of the inaugural Heartland High School Film Competition today, honoring aspiring, young filmmakers from across the country.

Grand Prize winner John Gordon of Dallas, Texas took top honors with his film Clay. Gordon’s short film embodies the 2010 Competition’s theme of HOPE and tells the story of a boy trapped in the rubble after the Jan. 12, 2010 Haitian earthquake. By recalling happy memories, the boy strives to hold onto hope in order to stay alive.

“My short film takes place during the traumatic event of the Haitian earthquake, and was made to instill a quiet sense of hope in the audience,” said the now 18-year-old Gordon, who was a senior in high school when he made the film.

A List of Required Items

 
You can probably remember coming home from school.  You carried a book-bag or backpack.  In your book-bag or backpack, you carried your pencils, crayon, paper, workbooks, notebook, rules, compass, and etc.  Now, your backpack includes tissue, and may be a bottle of hand-sanitizer.  And your school teacher prepared a list of required items.     

Most rural Congolese children don't have books,notebooks, and other school supplies.  So, they don't need a book-bag or backpack.  If they are lucky and fortunate, they may have a pen and some papers.  The teacher is just happy if you can pay your school fees because that's the required item. 

Basic Bullying

In the US, we have a big problem of students bullying other students based upon sex preference and other issues.  Later, most students grow out bullying and move on to adulthood.  The bullied-student may not have any major or lasting effects.

But in Congo, they have only basic bullying, so far.  Boys bully or tease the girls.  Many girls are discouraged by their parents, too.  Later, most girls would drop out of school before completing high school.  BUT, the bullied-girl will have life long effects of little or incomplete education.

In our rural village of Bulape, they have started girl only schools to combat bullying.  Education is too important and too irreversible. 

 

Excited About Education

Congolese boys and girls are excited by the opportunity to attend school.  Surprisingly, they want to be there.  They want the chance to improve themselves.  They want the chance for a better future.

That's what happen when education is not universal.  But what about the faces of the Congolese boys and girls that can't attend school.  In rural Congo, over 50 percent of the children do not have access to school.  They are not excited. 

 

After School Activities

The start of the school season is hard on children.  They have been enjoying life freely over the summer vacation.  Now, life has changed.  It's back to school.  And it's back to sports and homework after school.

In rural Congo, it's time for school, too.  Not all students will have the opportunity to go back to school.  Probably none of the students will have a sports program or homework to do.  But it's back to going to get water after school.

Taxes and the Poor

Congo does not have a tax system.  Also, Congolese are among the poorest people in the world.  That's a recipe for disaster and uncommon suffering.  Imagine what your public schools would look like under those conditions.

The people are too poor to afford adequate schools, text books, and school supplies.  The village or local government authorities are too poor to provide adequate schools, teacher training, text books, and school equipment.

Fair taxes and economic development are the long term solution.  But until then, it's a unreal world for the poor.  That's why Congo Helping Hands is there! 

Good Teachers Are Silver Bullets

Teachers are an integral part of the educational scene in rural Congo.  What about the books needed for teachers and students?  What about the infrastructure like classrooms, desks, chalkboards, and other equipment?  What about the students themselves?  Which one is most important?

The success of the education systems is dependent upon the teachers.  A good teacher can compensate for the lack of my resources in poor rural Congo.

Training for rural Congolese teachers is the closest thing to the proverbial "silver bullet".