Karibu (Welcome) :: Back to School in Midst of War
Karibu (“welcome,” in Swahili) to year nine of the Peace School. On September 1st the Congo Peace School not only welcomed back the returning students who grew up in the surrounding villages, but the campus is now a beacon of peace and education for 195 additional students who are known as IDPs, internally displaced peoples.
I dislike acronyms for people groups, it reduces them to a category and a statistic instead of a child who had a home that they loved, a place where they knew their neighbors. Roads that they grew up walking, knowing just where one could tuck into a hiding place in a field and escape your older siblings for a moment of peace.
Suddenly, because of war between other groups named with acronyms, your mother has grabbed your hand and is running with you and your siblings, fleeing for your lives. You end up in Mumosho, a place people have described as relatively peaceful. There’s a school there with a library of books, a playground, a soccer field, a basketball court, a computer lab, and a cafeteria where all the students eat two meals a day. You meet teachers who do not punish you for asking questions, but encourage your curiosity, and explore what elements of trauma might be behind your actions.
When so many parents fled their homes towards the end of the past school year, our Founding Director Amani Matabaro could not help but welcome them in. This has expanded the school’s capacity for joy and connection, offering opportunities in understanding other cultures and tribes and sharing in one another’s stories of lives lived in different parts of Congo.
It has also increased some of the costs to keep these students safe, fed, and in the classroom to continue their education.
Help Us Close the $200,000 Gap
Welcoming 195 students displaced by conflict has increased enrollment at the Congo Peace School to 755 students, creating an unexpected $200,000 funding gap for this school year. Your support now will help ensure every student can continue to learn in safety, eat two meals each school day, and have access to the teachers, supplies, uniforms, counseling, health support, sports, and other resources the school provides.
We are also working to make it easier for you to engage and give. Action Kivu is optimizing our giving platforms and expanding the ways you can support the Congo Peace School and all of our programming. In addition to one-time and monthly gifts through our updated donation platform, you can now recommend a grant from your donor-advised fund directly through the Action Kivu website.
We need your help to close this gap. Please consider making a gift today, increasing or starting a monthly gift, or sharing this appeal widely with your friends, family, and networks. (If your monthly gift is currently through PayPal, please follow these directions to cancel that, and visit actionkivu.org/donate to switch to our new Donorbox system that uses Stripe.)
And if you have an idea, a connection, or another way you would like to get involved, we want to hear from you! Please email rebecca@actionkivu.org. There are many ways to engage with Action Kivu and help us expand the community behind this work.
Give, share, or get involved today at actionkivu.org/donate
What Sets the Peace School Apart?
In their DRC News Monitor, PAEMA reported that, “When schools are open, families who were displaced by conflict and now live in refugee camps don’t have the money they need to pay for the school fees and uniforms required for their children to resume their schooling.
“The Ebola epidemic is another major barrier: the spokesperson for the teacher’s union in Ituri said that on September 1st, only one out of ten students came to school, due to fears of Ebola transmission. Most schools are not equipped with washing and sanitation equipment, including soap, and some don’t even have water. In the North Kivu provincial capital of Beni, the few students who made it to school were sent back home as their teachers did not come.”
Thanks to your partnership with the Congo Peace School and its surrounding community, the students and staff there not only have access to soap and water, they have education about how to prevent the spread of Ebola. Their temperatures are taken before entering the campus, and they know to report any symptoms. Thanks to your investment, the parents or families of orphaned children do not have to pay school fees. The entire student body is made up of those kids most in need, for whom many would not eat if they did not attend the Congo Peace School.
These students, and especially those who were forced from their homes and local schools, now feel a sense of belonging. (Note – there are no new cases of Ebola in the school’s region of South Kivu, but everyone in the community continues to practice caution and take steps to stop any spread.)
Amani spoke to both the elementary/preschool and secondary school principals, who shared the following about the first week back to school:
“The reopening was marked by joy, happiness and resilience. Teachers and students gathered with renewed energy despite the difficult context of war in eastern DRC. We emphasized education for peace, reminding students and staff that the Congo Peace School learning approach is not only about school success but also about building social cohesion and harmony in the community and the role each and everyone has to play.
“We referred to the remarkable success rate of 100% in the state exams for the class of 2026 to motivate students and engage them in working hard. Students entered the new term with confidence and pride. This success became a source of encouragement for younger classes.”
Amani spoke at length with the school principals about the importance of teacher commitment in a thriving school community. Despite challenges, during the first week back in school, the teachers showed strong dedication, welcoming students warmly and reinforcing the values of perseverance and unity.
To share all of this good community school spirit, the school is inviting community members, parents, and local leaders in a general assembly later this month to ask them to continue to support the school in whatever way they can (some community members come monthly to clean and care for the grounds), to continue looking at the Peace School as a beacon of hope in a region facing instability.
Everyone was reminded that the collective spirit of peace and determination will help everyone begin the year with courage. It was a week of joyful renewal, setting the tone for a school year where peace education and school excellence must walk hand in hand. Meals were shared joyfully.
Here are some of those students today, several weeks into the school year. Our partner Nest Global supports the Nest Congo, the three classroom preschool program.
New this year: School uniforms with the Congo Peace School’s local logo. The local leadership realized that the identification with the school will help keep the students and staff safe on the roads to and from school. Despite the fact that the warring factions are not fighting for peace, the fighters appear to respect the nonviolent mission of the school, and the logo on the uniforms removes any suspicion that a student might be part of an enemy militia or army.
Thank you for turning your attention, time, and giving to the people of Congo. Your support is making a long-term, lasting investment in peace through students, staff, and community members who are learning how to resolve conflicts with nonviolent language and actions – imagine that world with us. Please consider a one-time or monthly donation to help us continue to create it.