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Ecoles
du Coeur
- a school for literacy
Kinshasa, Democratic
Republic of Congo
August 2007
Warm
greetings! My visit in the US is winding to the end. I gave
two talks in Eugene, plus a radio interview. Currently,
I'm visiting with dear friends of mine in Riverside, CA,
who are helping with outreach to the school. I'm very grateful
for all your kindness and generosity.
I'd
like to reiterate my investmemt needs at the school.
The school, for its sustainablility, needs to acquire a
property of its own, where it can slowly build. To purchase
a property in the area where the school is located, we would
need a minimum of $20,000. Once this property is acquired,
construction may proceed slowly, and friends in OR &
CA have even offered to come and help with the
construction in summer 2008.
With
much appreciation for your continued support,
Much love,
Mayal
Tshiabwila, Director
Ecoles du Coeur |
Update:
February 2006
A
new school for literacy in The Democratic Republic of Congo has
been founded by Mayal Tshiabwila, a Christian Scientist from Kinshasa.
“MY
PRAYER, SOME DAILY GOOD TO DO TO THINE, FOR THEE"
(Mary
Baker Eddy, Poems)
The
initial group outside the school (2003). [photo, left]
Early
2002, I “lost” my
job with a UN development agency. To make a living, I ventured
on a chicken raising business,
but a few months later, it collapsed. I had already built,
in my compound, a 3.5 by 10 meters room in cement blocks.
I kept
thinking how to put my room to good use. Then one day,
I went out of my compound and saw a good number of school
boys and
girls, with sad faces, walking back from the nearby school.
Asked why
they were going back home at that time, they said they
had
been expelled from school, because their parents had
not paid required
school fees. I went back in my compound, but the image
of those children kept knocking at my mind. I knew we
had
a transition
government facing many problems, but something needed to
be done.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, even public
schools are not free. Beginning in the late 80s, owing to mismanagement
and
widespread corruption, the dictatorship then in place, could
no longer deliver basic social services. To survive, public
schools started charging a fee. Widespread unemployment, very
large families,
very low wages in the public sector, all those factors combined
drove down school enrolment. Available data from UNICEF (2001)
tell the story: Rate of enrolment: boys: 55%, girls: 49%. Children
who enter first grade and complete fifth grade: 54%. These
data tell the magnitude of the problem facing children. Many
of those
who get a chance to enrol in first grade drop out of school
even before reaching fifth grade.
 I had a large enough room I could
divide in three classrooms, but where would I get the money
to furnish them. The following
summer, while in the United States for my annual association
meeting, I shared the idea with a few friends. One, a Principia
College alumnus, offered to send me $ 100. This I used to buy
a few chairs. Then another Principian offered $ 200. I also
wrote a project document which I shared with friends. By December
2002,
one room was furnished. The same month, a dear friend from
Europe I had informed about the project, promised to introduce
me to
a friend of hers who could help us. Then, one Monday, that
friend of my friend sent $500 for the school, along with kind
words
of encouragement.
January 2003, the school opened with a class of
15 children. At the end of that year, we had 26 children of single
mothers. In 2004 - 2005, the school population reached 57 students.
Among these students, special groups: women aged
from 21 to 62, enrolled to learn how to read and write; single
mothers aged from 16 to 28, and of course boys and girls aged
from 11 to 20.
The school
year 2005 – 2006 started in September,
and the classes are crowded. We have four groups: young boys
and girls
: 45; women up to 68 years: 20, single mothers: 10.
Owing to
the accommodation problems, we had to turn quite a few away.
The many students did not go to the regular school because their
parents could not afford the school fees all school charge. Therefore,
we cannot ask them to pay a fee.
“Ecoles du Coeur” is
a small, but great idea. There are so many children out of
school, and many adults who are illiterate.
Even if the contribution Ecoles du Coeur is making is like a
drop of water in a desert, it is worth continuing and supporting.
|
[photo] Mayal
Tshiabwila, Director
Ecoles du Coeur
CONTACT
INFO
100% of your gift is sent to Democratic Republic of Congo for
educational purposes. If you wish to make a tax deductible contribution,
please indicate "Ecole du Coeur" (or Schools of the
Heart) and write checks to: CS Church Eugene OR.
Mail to:
Treasurer
First Church of Christ, Scientist
1390 Pearl St.
Eugene OR 97401
If you wish
to contact directly this learning project in Africa, please contact:
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Mayal Tshiabwila, Director
Ecoles du Coeur, Kinshasa
Email: ecolesducoeur@yahoo.fr
Tel: 011-243-998-310931
US Mailing address:
c/o UNDP Kinshasa D.R.Congo
1 UN Plaza
New York NY 10017
Cynthia Clague, CS, Chair, Eugene Committee
Email: cclague@comcast.net
Tel: 541-344-0430
Margie Hamlin, Administrator, Kenya Project
Email: hamlinMH@aol.com
Tel: 314-434-5080
Debra Piot, ALM, Chair, Kenya Project
Email: debrapiot@yahoo.com
Tel: 207-359-2324
[photo,
above] Single mothers and young girls learning how to sew,
2004.
|
