"I thought university was only for children of the rich..." Congo Peace School alumni now in college share their stories

“The Congo Peace School not only prepared us in how to take a university course and how to succeed, but also taught us how to live with friends in harmony, in society and anywhere in the community. The principles of nonviolence are a compass.”

— Arsene, CPS Class of 2023, University Student

Can you smell that? It’s the scent of freshly sharpened pencils and that eau de rubber eraser toilette – we are officially in back-to-school season! In DRC, the students at the Congo Peace School are being measured by the Sewing Workshop alumni for their school uniforms, the teachers are planning their lessons, and the campus is getting last looks and touch-ups for opening day.

As we wait for school to start, we wanted to check in with the six CPS students who were in our first graduating class in 2023, six of whom are now in college, thanks to the scholarships provided by our CPS Founding Partner, The Dillon Henry Foundation’s Harriet Zaretsky! We’re excited to share how the unique curriculum and holistic education model of the Congo Peace School prepares the students for higher learning and careers.

We especially wanted to know how being a part of the Congo Peace School community had affected their first year in university. These students are from families who could not afford the basic school fees of secondary school, let alone be able to send the kids to college, so this opportunity was not even a hope or dream for them before they began attending CPS, thanks to your support.

Bertin, who is the school’s accountant, also acts as a mentor for the students now living in community in Bukavu. Bertin checks in regularly on the students, making sure they have what they need to succeed, whether that’s to print a paper or food for the week. As roommates, the students share the household tasks, with a calendar for cooking and cleaning duties.

Part of the ethos of the Congo Peace School is instilling in underserved students the understanding that they MATTER. That just because they were born into extreme poverty does not mean they are not equals with others who were born into wealth. Several of the students noted how they had assumed university was only for children of wealthy families, and upon engaging in the community and classes, have realized that they belong. We are thrilled to share parts of their stories with you, here.

We have highlighted Rosalie’s journey several times over the years. In July 2018, Rosalie and her brother came to the school while it was still under construction before opening that September. They had recently lost both their parents to AIDS, and were naturally devastated, and in shock and grief. Amani immediately enrolled them in the first year of the Congo Peace School, promising them everything that it entails, daily meals, uniforms, and access to the nurse and the school counselor, trained in psycho-social techniques.

When Action Kivu’s Rebecca Snavely returned to the school only two months later, shortly after we opened in September, 2018, she didn’t recognize Rosalie. She smiled, she posed for her portrait with confidence, and told me that she dreamed of using her education to be president of Congo one day.

Today, almost done with her first year of university, Rosalie is 19 and continues to shine with that confidence.

Rosalie is studying psychology at UOB (Official University of Bukavu), and tells us she chose the major “because it inspires me, and I’ve always liked working with children who have difficulties, neglected children, street children, children living with disabilities, orphaned children, as well as people with trauma problems and other people with different life problems. I chose this field to realize my dream.

“I highly value psychology as it’s an integral part in all areas of life, everywhere there are people, there are problems that psychology can address. A psychologist will help children who have problems with depression for example, stress, trauma, mental problems and all the traumatic experiences that can be caused by natural disasters such as floods, erosion or by war.”

Rosalie shares that the Congo Peace School prepared her with the similar courses as to what she is taking in her first year of university, as well as the computer literacy she learned in the CPS solar-powered lab, allowing her to be a step ahead of many of her classmates who were not trained on a computer.

Arsene is another student about whom we have been sharing stories over the years. When he was 9 years old, he was part of our previous Education Assistance program sending children who couldn’t afford school fees to local schools. At that age, Arsene told us he dreamed of being a priest, to help others. His father had been killed when Arsene was very young, and Amani’s organization ABFEC had become a family of choice for him.

In 2018, when the Congo Peace opened, Arsene was one of the first to be enrolled. We asked him about the foundation of the curriculum, what the concept of nonviolence meant to him. He replied, "I've only ever heard of violence, not nonviolence. Our teachers tell us about what is happening in the world, and it is all related to violence." We asked Arsene what expectations he has for this new school, based on the principles of peace and nonviolence. "We never know," he said. "I hear this school will be a blessing. Maybe I will graduate and become president."

Now 20, Arsene is focusing his desire to help people into his studies of public health. “I know senior scientists who are doing public health management and they really inspire me. I can be a field agent, have my own office or practice to think and research on public health issues, I can work in the Central Offices of Health Zones, work in NGOs that open in the field of health, recently I also worked to improve and deepen my training in IT.”

“This field is important to me because I will be very happy to see myself be an early responder and provide first aid whenever there are endemic diseases as well as pandemic diseases,” says Arsene. “I will be there for disease prevention, first aid, to raise awareness, promote activities in the communities so that the people are not victims.

“I appreciate university life a lot because I am acquiring new knowledge that fits with the field that I am studying, I’m discovering other new realities of practical life and I see my dream coming true, my dream of being useful to myself, my family, my community, my country and the world.”

When I return home, I go to CPS to greet my teachers, I look for books to read at the library. The basketball court is a new thing after our departure, I came back and saw this court which amazed me a lot. We were invited by Congo Peace School for an exchange with the finalists who are in 6th grade before going to take the exams to get their state diplomas, we had a very enriching exchange on how to prepare for the exams, how to behave during the exams and we hope that this exchange will produce good results.

Busime is 20 years old, and in law school at UOB. She shares that she “will be a jurist/lawyer to defend human rights in general and especially women's rights, because in our society I see that men are favored while women are marginalized, neglected, and do not have much support, their rights are violated. I am interested in becoming a lawyer especially to raise awareness and educate women and communities on women's rights, and contribute to the promotion of these rights.

“The law is of capital importance, because there is no society without rights, law and justice are there to govern the behavior of individuals, their actions, but also when people know that there is justice, rights are respected, there are violations that cannot be committed because people know that they are controlled, this helps to reduce or avoid certain conflicts or problems in society. For example when someone knows that rape is punishable by law and that it is a crime, he will not do it for fear that he will be judged by the law and therefore rights must be respected.

“Before being at university,” Busime says, “I thought that academics could only come from rich families, but when I look at where I come from and that I am at university today, I thank enormously those who pay for me so that I am also at university. I work hard every day to succeed and realize my dream of becoming a lawyer.

“CPS prepared us well for university,” she shares. “After having been introduced to the habit of reading books, (the Congo Peace School library has over 3,000 books), during the presentations, those of us who graduated from CPS defend ourselves clearly and better than some of our college peers.”

Soda is 20, and in the college of Letters, Science and Society, in the Communications Department at UOB. He says he chose this major “because there is no society without communication and more so, reliable communication. [I’m studying] the science that prepares me to become a trained and professional communicator. My dream is to become a commentator of live matches, and after a semester at the university, I am more and more interested in my field, because I understand that apart from the commentary of matches, there are other areas where good communication is important. This field gives the possibility of specializing in computer science, as well as in sociology.

“CPS prepared me well. My first internship in 5th grade secondary (11th grade in the U.S. system) in the humanities at CPS was spent at a community radio station, Colombe FM in Nyangezi, and my first internship at the University was also an ISDR radio station.

“CPS is our mother house, it has become my home, it is where I spend the night when I take a break from college, because I have no other family. Last weekend I went there and played football, and the basketball court is a new thing in the area.”

*Soda was orphaned, and when his host family kicked him out of their household because they could not afford to feed him, he was terrified and alone and ran away. The Congo Peace School principal tracked him down in another area, and brought him back to live in the housing the CPS has, eat all his meals there, and graduate to become a successful university student with hope and goals for his future career.

Adela, who is 19 is in the department of Public Health at UOB. She says she chose to major in public health as a critical need for society, as “it helps and allows us to prevent diseases, in order to reduce mortality, and prolong the life of humans.”

“When I was still in high school I thought that university would be easy, but when I got to university I understood that this was not the case and there I made the decision to adapt to the courses and teaching system. I quickly understood that I had to work hard to achieve my dreams, my goals of becoming an expert in public health and contributing to solving the multiple health problems that our country is experiencing. I am already looking forward to finishing my studies and going to practice what I studied.”

When I go home, it is usually on the weekend, and I always want to return to CPS to briefly greet my teachers and our little brothers and sisters who are still in secondary school. I also go to read the books at the library.”

Samuel is 19 and studying administrative sciences and management at UOB. He believes in the power of overcoming corruption with good, transparent administration and leadership practices.

“I will be different from others in the management of institutions, I am from the field, I know all the methods and techniques to manage, people who have not done administrative sciences do not have the necessary management tools. I really have the passion to make reforms in the management of the administration of public life in my country,” Samuel says.

“The Congo Peace School prepared me well, I can honestly say that all the skills and abilities that I have and I am currently proving at the Official University of Bukavu that make people say that there is something special in me, that I have a glimmer of hope for myself and for my community and my country, it is thanks to the supervision and training of Congo Peace School.

“Even seeing the way I communicate during presentations, sometimes the assistants interrupt me to ask me about my original secondary school, where did I study, they ask? I am quite good at computers, and the computer skills that I use at UOB, I got from Congo Peace School.”

“The difference compared to what I expected is that at first I was intimidated, I thought that that university was only for the children of the rich. I am here today thanks to the spirit of solidarity of the supporters of ABFEC. As soon as we became students at the university, we realized we are the same, there is no difference.  ”

— Soda, CPS Class of 2023, University Student

Your support of Action Kivu provides the resources for us to invest in ABFEC, Amani Matabaro's locally led NGO in Congo, and his vision come to life: the Congo Peace School. The outcome is transformational - both in the individual lives of the students (nearly 600 every school year), as well as in the community’s understanding of social justice and equity. Thank you for your support! Please keep us in your planning for your year-end gift, or consider a monthly donation.

How you can continue to help: Please share these stories with others to help us grow our network of supporters to allow us to continue to invest in this world-changing movement to end the cycle of violence and extreme poverty through education and job-training rooted in equality and peace.