Kinshasa’s Children- Congo’s Hope for the Future

A normal city street in Kinshasa, Congo

View of the road outside our car

Once again I am shocked at the “state of affairs” in the Congo.

 It feels like one big mess to me. 

Dirt is normal, trash is everywhere: I have yet to see a garbage can other than in the bathroom.  

 The roads and traffic are messed up and crazy. Four lanes merging at the intersections from all directions, without lights or stop signs, and honking seems to be much more understood than a blinking signal… but somehow it works. 

The local public transportation, called “Esprit de mort”, is a trashed van which crams as many people in it as can fit. Having to ride in one of those is putting your life at risk, as its name well describes (spirit of death). 

Most people seem so desperate, living in a “survival mode”, that thinking beyond today's immediate needs is almost impossible. I don’t think you can even call Congo a developing country…more like pre-developing.

Christopher and Daniel. Daniel is a young man from our church in Germany who came to help us for 1 month.

In contrast to all of this, which adds to my frustration of understanding the situation. Congo is possibly the world's richest country in terms of natural resources (gold, cobalt, diamonds, rubber, water, and much more...), but this doesn’t seem to help its people.

So people ask me "Why come here? Why Congo? Why invest time, money and effort here, while most people have given up hope for this country?" I asked a guy from Washington state, who had just moved his young family here to work with MAF, a missionary aviation company, this same question yesterday. 

 His answer, put bluntly: 
“Because Congo needs some freek’in help! It’s like one of the last frontiers.” He went on to say that it is a country that still hasn’t recognized its own potential yet.  Most people don’t see it, but he wants to be part of that change.

 

I've been told that 15 million people live in Kinshasa.  At least 50% of those are children. Is there hope for this country? Who will be the ones to bring about change in this country?  It is the children. 

 That is why for me the only thing worth investing in the Congo is in the lives of children... 

Children who have been taught to value the nature and natural resources of their country, and not to destroy it or sell it in exchange for vanishing rewards... 

Children who begin to realize that finding solutions to a problem is much better than being given a hand-out to address a need... children that learn that hard work and perseverance is better than being named “the most intelligent kid” in the class. But the most important aspect for me… I dream of Congolese children that believe that they are wonderful creatures, loved by of a Heavenly Father, and that as their minds, hearts and actions are transformed into “image bearers of God”, they have the incredible potential to bring about huge changes in this country.
 

 
Watch these little videos we put together above about this past weeks teacher training week in the Congo 

So I’ll return to Congo in 2 weeks to build into a Congolese team of administrators and educators who will invest in the children of their country through education that is immersed in values which we believe bring about change.

Kende malamu!! (Good bye)

Our great team of Congolese teachers-in-training