The Key to being Unstoppable: Amani on the Power of Education and an Update from the Congo Peace School

Have you ever felt unstoppable? That hour (or maybe even a day, a week?) in which it felt that you were solving problems, answering questions, finding real solutions, helping someone? That soaring feeling somewhere in your chest that you had found your niche, your people, your place, a sense of purpose?

Speaking to Amani about the power of education, I realized that in partnering with him and through his leadership and the community of the Congo Peace School, we can all tap into that feeling, the knowledge that together, we can be unstoppable agents for peace and equality through education. This is what we want for the students, for ourselves, and for you, our community of partners!

Please take two minutes to watch this inspiring video, in which Amani shares why he believes (and sees the evidence of): “Education keeps people free!... So education is the answer against slavery, against lack of freedom, against the lack of democracy. So education is the key.”

While students continue to thrive at the Congo Peace School, they struggle in the midst of persistent trauma: M23 and other militias continue their attacks on civilians in surrounding areas (Mumosho, where the Peace School is located remains relatively safe), food insecurity is a chronic, life-threatening issue that we’re working to provide solutions locally to address, as well as the extreme poverty of the region that leaves people in a constant state of fear.  

Yet in this, as Amani notes in the video, students and staff at the Congo Peace School are learning to believe in themselves, to act with agency for peace in their homes and communities and country, to become unstoppable. They are fortified with the education that you are investing in, the daily healthy meals that you are investing in, and the hope you are investing in for a better, safer future.

Olame Rwizobuka is looking forward to reading new books in the school library, but notes that we need books about women’s leadership. She also plans to learn more computer skills this school year.  (16 years old, 4th grade Congo Peace School Secondary School)

Mulume Mufungizi shares: “The past four years were full of fears and despair because of strange things that have been happening: COVID-19, lack of peace which continues in our country. For 2023, I hope for peace, it’s needed. I wish the COVID-19 pandemic is completely over in the world. One of the goals I want to achieve is to become a 6th grader and be able to graduate from secondary school. I dream, wish, and hope to go to University. For me, this year is new hope, new dreams, and new determination.”  (16 years old, 5th grade Congo Peace School Secondary School)

Another recent highlight from the Congo Peace School:

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Amani gathered the student body in the auditorium to honor the civil rights leader whose principles of nonviolence are the bedrock of the school’s curriculum.

Amani shares: I spoke about some of his key achievements such as: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Great March on Washington, Civil Right Act of 1964, The Voting Rights Act.

I spoke about how courage and determination can change lives, and save lives. I highlighted these events as the interpretations of King's six principles of nonviolence for direct actions.

Our teachers, especially Daniel and Deo, the school principals, said that the approach by King is the only antidote for the ongoing situation of violence, the bad governance in the African Great Lakes Region countries, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The school principal was inspired to continue to lead the school with the inspiration and model of King. 

Thank you for your commitment to partner with the people of Congo in this way, and continuing to see the urgency to do so, as well as the impact it makes.

Messages from Congo of gratitude and hope in action

Though the holiday season can sometimes feel hectic and filled with to-do lists and events, it is also a time to reflect on the year, and as we celebrate various holidays, to reflect on gratitude and gifts. 

From Congo, Amani shares his gratitude for the connection you have made with him and the community at the Congo Peace School.

Amani also asked several students what comes to mind when they ponder what they’re thankful for.

(Photo text reads: I am so thankful for having a school with a teaching approach based on respect and equality. Our teachers are patient with us. I am most thankful that we have a computer lab in our school. - Ananyunve, 7th grade at the Congo Peace School.)

(Photo text reads: I am very thankful to be in a school with sanitation and hygiene practices. We have running, clean water on a regular basis! - Amina Basabanya, 7th grade at the Congo Peace School.)

(Photo text reads: I am so thankful to be in a school with a cafeteria. - Vainqueur Bahati, 2nd grade at the Congo Peace School.)

(Photo text reads: I am so thankful to be a Congo Peace School student, our school is green and beautiful. - Nuria Buherwa, 3rd grade at the Congo Peace School.)

(Photo text reads: Both Kanyenyeri and Nuria are so thankful to have each other as friends and classmates. - Kanyenyeri and Nuria, 3rd grade at the Congo Peace School.)

As I’m writing this in Los Angeles, my holiday playlist is on low volume in the background. John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” is currently playing.

Maddeningly, war is not over. Around the world and specifically right now in Congo, where outbreaks of violence are chasing people from their homes, leaving them with little in terms of food or the sense of peace and safety.  In Eastern Congo, violence between militia groups and military forces has spiked once again.

The Congo Peace School remains in a quiet region, but the threat of violence surrounds them. The vision of the Congo Peace School, to raise up a new generation of peace ambassadors who have the sense of agency to stand for what is just has never been more critical.

I asked Amani why he thinks it is that we use the English word “outbreak” for both war and violence and infectious diseases. He shared the following, and why he is still hopeful.

As we move through this holiday season, please consider a year end gift to Action Kivu to invest in this critical peace-building work.

War is over if you want it. – John Lennon

Violence is … a man-made disaster. It can be stopped. – Amani Matabaro

In deep gratitude for your partnership, connection, and investment in peace,

 Rebecca

New Videos: Congo Peace School 6th Grade Graduation, Preschool Student, and Students Reflect on Art

This past summer the Congo Peace School offered an art course, taught by volunteers from a university in nearby Bukavu. Before this unique course – a rarity in a region where many of the children’s families can’t afford a pencil and paper, let alone paints – we asked four of the students to define what art means to them. And now we follow-up with them, after they have completed the course.

Before: 6th grader Ambika had said, “Drawing, painting, and that’s it.” Ambika signed up for the art class to learn more, to discover new things.

After: “I had no idea children of our ages could learn and achieve what we achieved during the art class. When we started learning how to draw using a pencil, I had no idea we were to do more. When we started shredding the papers I was a little bit disappointed but when we started making dough from waste paper, it gave me hope, but I could not have imagined we would be able to achieve making a flamingo. The day we made it, I loved art more and more and can't wait to be in another summer class and learn how to achieve more. Now I know that art is everything, it's more than drawing and painting: art is an expression and can be used in many ways.” – Ambika

Before: Fellow 6th grader Mushagalusa had said, “I think art is just drawing and I very much like to draw. I signed up for the art class because I am curious and want to learn. This is exceptional, no other school has a formal art class, I am lucky and happy to be a student at the Congo Peace School. There is no other way I make art apart from drawing at school but nobody teaches you, you have to do it on your own.”

After: “After our summer art class, now I know that art is not only about drawing at school, but also more than that. It's a very complex area, it's many things at a time, someone can communicate and speak through art, and it can be used to express or demand peace. I am very proud to have achieved this dove as a symbol of peace that our country is hungry for.” – Mushagalusa

Before: 4th grader Nsimire had simply said, “I had never heard about art before. I want to learn and discover. I like colors.”

After: ''I discovered art and I like it, now I know that it's a combination of many things coming together to achieve one thing like the fish we were able to achieve as a group. I am very curious to learn more next summer.'' – Nsimire

Before: Agisha had defined art as “using pencil and color crayons to draw or paint or write like on the walls of our school.* But I didn’t know children like us can do art. I signed up for this class to learn art.” (*The school has murals and quotes around the campus.)

After: ''It is very amazing, it makes me happy to see children like us being a part of this process. From simple pencil drawing to cutting paper, then putting them together and making the ‘dough,’ mixing it with paint and then come up with a lamp! I had only been seeing these things in books here at our school. I am very excited about achieving more during the next summer art program. Why is there no art class in the school curriculum?'' – Agisha

You are part of this joy-inducing, life-giving community! A big thank you to everyone who gives monthly or annually to support this unique school that is creating equality and peace from the inside out.

Currently the Congo Peace School’s powerful curriculum rooted in peace and nonviolence is funded by our community of donors and foundation grants to the level that we often employ art as therapy, but we want to change the answer to Agisha’s last question and sustainably expand the offerings, including art and other vocational trainings. Please share these stories with friends and family to help us grow our community of support.  

⚪ As the new school year kicked off in September, the Congo Peace School celebrated the graduation of Grade 6 students into Grade 7 (or 1st grade secondary, as it is known in DRC). This ceremony was the first of its kind in Mumosho, and rare in South Kivu and Eastern Congo. The gowns were made by many of the graduates of Action Kivu’s Sewing Workshop – just one illustration of how our programs build upon and support each other.

Family and community members gathered to celebrate the special day. Please watch the video with the volume up to celebrate with these students who all passed the nationwide standardized test to graduate into secondary school!

The sense of self-worth this helps provide is priceless. Thank you for investing in the lives of so many in this way.

⚪ The Nest is the preschool at the Congo Peace School – three classrooms supported by our partner PILA Global in fostering curiosity and a sense of agency in the students ages 4 to 6 years old, preparing them for elementary school where they are encouraged to question and think critically, unlike so many schools in the region.

Amani shared the following video with the notes: Marcelin Murhula is a 5-year-old Congo Nest student who demonstrates remarkable oral communication skills, initiative-taking, sharing his thoughts, and thinking critically.

In the video, Marcelin is speaking correct French (the official language of education in DRC, and the third language citizens learn, after a local dialect and Swahili). Here he is talking about his school, saying: ''our school is called Congo Peace School. It’s beautiful, it has three levels: preschool, elementary, and secondary. We have amazing caregivers and teachers, they teach us reading, writing, and numeracy. May Congo Peace School live long!” 

⚪ Lastly, we just finished a new video that highlights so much of what is special about the Congo Peace School – please watch and share!

With gratitude for your continued partnership and drive to create a more equitable, just, and peace-filled world.

Art Class at the CPS: Fostering Creativity, Curiosity, and Healing

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ―Maya Angelou

At the Congo Peace School, we believe that art in all its forms offers pathways for healing through exploration, expression and beauty, and that creative thinking, fostering curiosity, and asking “what if?” is the way to change the world.

Amani shared about the time he first learned about art as part of the practice of healing trauma. “I learned about guided imagery during a training in Kenya with the Center for Mind and Body Medicine (CMBM) by Dr James S. Gordon. We did an exercise about drawing the river of your life, the ups and downs, and I started realizing the healing power of art and how an artwork connects us to the artist and whoever has experienced anything around. An artwork creates a connection to ourselves and others.” And instead of avoiding emotions and thoughts, pushing them down to fester, “when you connect to yourself, you feel your emotions and think your thoughts,” says Amani, allowing them to pass through you, negative or positive. After that initial training, Amani continues to connect with CMBM for training, to continue to teach the students and staff this powerful way to process and heal trauma.

The students at the Congo Peace School have practiced art as healing therapy, but have never had a professional artist teach them the techniques of drawing, painting, the basics of color, shadow, and upcycling their own school papers to create textured pieces of art.

When a university professor from nearby Bukavu visited the Congo Peace School this past spring, he was so impressed and moved by the school’s mission for mental health and what the students and staff learn about protecting and caring for the earth, he volunteered to teach a summer art class. Amani spoke to several of the students before they began the two-week course, so we could hear their thoughts about art before the training, and then check in with them after to see what might have changed.

When asked how she would define *art,* 6th grader Ambika said, “Drawing, painting, and that’s it.” Ambika signed up for the art class to learn more, to discover new things. She has never been offered an art class before. The only other way Ambika makes art is to draw at school in her drawing copy book.

Fellow 6th grader Mushagalusa said, “I think art is just drawing and I very much like to draw. I signed up for the art class because I am curious and want to learn. This is exceptional, no other school has a formal art class, I am lucky and happy to be a student at the CPS. There is no other way I make art apart from drawing at school but nobody teaches you, you have to do it on your own.”

Their classmate Agisha defined art as “using pencil and color crayons to draw or paint or write like on the walls of our school.* But I didn’t know children like us can do art. I signed up for this class to learn art.” (*The school has murals and quotes around the campus.)

4th grader Nsimire simply said, “I had never heard about art before. I want to learn and discover. I like colors.”

The assistant art teachers have been documenting the classes, and it’s absolutely beautiful to see the students (and several Congo Peace School teachers) learning the tools that will allow them to share their own experiences in new ways. 

(The students upcycle their used papers to create textured artwork.)

(Practicing drawing Congo's historic liberation leader Patrice Lumumba.)

(Congo Peace School teachers like Julien are taking the training so they can teach other students.)

We can’t wait to share more stories of their experiences, and what they created, and how that will change how we all see the world in new ways. 

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ― Edgar Degas

With deep gratitude for your connection to the Congo Peace School students and staff and community. Your partnership is fostering creativity, healing, and long-lasting change.

We cannot do this without our family of donors! Would you miss $3 per month if it was automatically deducted from your account? $20? $50? Consider making a monthly gift to partner with the students and staff and their families via our donation page or Patreon and you’ll get these updates directly in your inbox!

Transforming Ourselves to Transform the World

As I sat down to share the Congo Peace School update from Amani, a theme arose: Transforming ourselves to transform the world. Oftentimes it seems the universe is trying to teach us critical lessons by showing us different versions of them, how the same theme is playing out in various ways around the world, in different people.

As Amani posed questions to some of the Congo Peace School teachers, their answers echoed what I’d just read via writer and activist adrienne maree brown. On Instagram, brown shared some of the lessons she’s learned (and is learning) from Grace Lee Boggs, writing: 

“Grace also said, 'We must transform ourselves to transform the world,’ which is taking me years to understand and embody. The way I think of it now is in the framework of the imagination battle: there is a war going on for the future—it is cultural, ideological, economic, and spiritual. And as in any war, there is a front line, a place where the action is urgent, where the battle will be won or lost. The world, the values of the world, are shaped by the choices each of us make. Which means my thinking, my actions, my relationships, and my life create a front line for the possibilities of the entire species. Each one of us is an individual practice ground for what the whole can or cannot do, will or will not do."

— adrienne maree brown

Your support gives the foundation for the teachers and support staff of the Congo Peace School to transform themselves, and teach in a way that allows the students to transform themselves, inside out, to be true ambassadors of peace and social justice.  

Read what some of the teachers shared as the differences between the Congo Peace School’s approach to education from the local Congolese schools they attended or taught at before joining the Congo Peace School. The impact of your giving is already being seen in lives transformed, which will transform the world.

Daniel teaches Geography, and has been at the Congo Peace School (CPS) since the first year, in September 2018. He shared: “I am 33 and started teaching at CPS when it started. Prior to that I had been a teacher of geography for six years in different local schools. The difference between how I teach at CPS and how I was taught is like night and day as far as many aspects are concerned.  At the CPS, I never use corporal punishment to correct children’s mistakes during my teaching sessions, while as a student, I was often caned any time I failed to answer any question by the teacher.  

“The way I ask questions to my students at the CPS is totally different from how our teachers were asking us questions. Most of our questions from our teachers were closed questions, yes or no questions, whereas at the CPS our question approach is mostly divergent questions, allowing students to speak their minds and to promote critical thinking. I like how we teach students at CPS because of notions like respect, equality, peace, justice, and nonviolence, and I have realized that these ideas help children grow up with self confidence with no fear. When I was in secondary school, we feared our teachers and we were not allowed to ask any questions.”

Photo Credit: Tomaso Lisca

When asked, how do you think this method of teaching students will make an impact in their lives? In your community? In your country? Daniel replied: “This method of teaching is helping the students transform their trauma and suffering. They are growing up without fear and learning to respect each other and every human being at a community level. Knowing the rights of others is key in the stability of every human society. Promoting the culture of positive values helps countries to stabilize and thrive. So, the Congo Peace School is not a school for only the students who attend it but us teachers also because we keep learning day by day.”

Lydie first started at the Congo Peace School as a secondary school teacher before transitioning to be the elementary school principal. In response to what is different about the CPS from her previous educational experience, she shared that when she first started working, she was “attracted by the different writings on the walls, quotes summarizing the philosophy of the CPS teaching approach. I was mostly attracted by the saying: Fighting hatred, learning tolerance and seeking justice and equality. These are things I was never exposed to in the school I went to. We teach students in promoting positive leadership as opposed to exercising our authority and power over our students.”

The impact of this method of teaching, she says, comes from the understanding of their freedom. “Free leaders will lead their countrymen with freedom and this is where I see our teaching approach will have an impact on the students as future leaders, and on the community they will lead, and that will spread freedom over the entire country. It’s amazing to see how the students are being transformed at the individual level, being open, free in thinking and the community is directly impacted by having their members bring about change. I can’t wait to see how the country is going to be changed by these students.”

Clovis teaches 6th grade elementary, and is realizing the difference having access to a library and computer lab make at the Congo Peace School. “I went to a school with no books for the students but here at the CPS we have the unique chance to have books for students and teachers all the  time. With more than 10 years experience in the elementary school teaching system, I never taught students using a real computer, but here at the CPS, right after I was hired, I took a training in computer skills. The whole time I was a student in both elementary and secondary schools, I never saw a computer.”

CPS computer lab and part of library. Photo Credit: Tomaso Lisca

“Teaching respect, peace, spreading love, and especially the psychosocial component [of the Congo Peace School] makes it more and more beautiful, because children have someone who will listen to them and help them heal. The different trauma healing activities the teachers are involved in is unique, I never experienced that as a student.”

Reflecting on the impact of the school’s curriculum, Clovis said, “Our CPS teaching approach will and is already impacting the lives of our students as individuals, healing to be part of their school beloved community, and their healing is spreading to the community and the country will benefit having healed citizens.”

Fitina, who has over 16 years experience teaching elementary school, shared, “As teachers at the Congo Peace School, we don't only teach maths, languages, and history, we go beyond, we promote human rights. I deeply like the CPS teaching approach as long as it is centered on peace.”

Echoing Grace Lee Boggs, Fitina noted, “Everyone needs peace as a right, having children who understand that peace begins within themselves, they are giving peace to others at a community level and then the entire country. Our teaching approach helps students transform themselves, then transform the community and the country. Otherwise, untransformed suffering will be transferred.”   

Amani also shared photos of the students relaxing and playing at the Congo Peace School’s campus. In a country mired in conflict, with recent bouts of armed conflict in neighboring areas (Mumosho remains a peaceful region), these kids and young adults feel safe at the school. 

Your partnership allows these students the healing space and practices, the loving teachers and staff necessary to transform their trauma, pain, and fear and then transfer peace into their community, country, transforming our world. 

Rosalie's Story & Charlene's Studies (March 2022)

“The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.
”

— Kiran Desai

In our fourth year of the Congo Peace School, we see that some changes are gradual, and some are seemingly instant. More gradual is the deepening understanding of how the practices of peace, nonviolence, and equality affect one’s life, family, and community, while some changes are immediately visible, like the change we witnessed in Rosalie from July 2018 to September of that year, and now, four years later, in her leadership at the school.

In July 2018, Rosalie and her brother came to the school while it was still under construction. 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 entails, daily meals, uniforms, and access to the nurse and the school counselor, trained in psycho-social techniques.

When I returned to the school only two months later, shortly after we opened in September, 2018, I 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.

Now, Rosalie is in the 5th grade of the secondary school, and acted as the student representative for the International Women’s Day gathering held this March at the Congo Peace School, where the students, staff, and community honored the progress made and challenged each other and the world to work harder for women’s equality and equity.

Speaking to a room of fellow students and adults, Rosalie concluded her speech on leadership by the following words: “Dear friends, brothers and sisters, we all have to understand what leadership is all about, a leader is someone who is able to inspire, guide. … You are a girl, you are a woman, do not underestimate yourself that you cannot lead a group. My wish is that the DRC’s next president is a woman and maybe through a woman DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] will change, that is what I wish. Thank you.”

Photos of Rosalie and her brother in July 2018 to her the first semester of September 2018 to now.

Rosalie & brother, July 2018

Rosalie, September 2019

Rosalie, March 2022

As we continue to work with students in a trauma-informed model, we are excited to share that our Founding Director Amani Matabaro’s eldest daughter Charlene is back in Congo and volunteering at the Peace School after graduating from Hope International University in Fullerton, California this past December (2021) with a degree in Psychology, Counseling and Child Development.

Having been away from Congo for over five years, Charlene shared, “In my mind, I was coming back home to rest, spend time with my family, friends and above all, I was excited to visit the Peace School.”

“The week I arrived,” Charlene wrote, “I went immediately to discover what the Congo Peace School really is. I drove 50 minutes from Bukavu, my hometown, and upon arrival I was amazed by the building and how clean and green the school is.

“I was curious to see if the same beauty and greenery were also in the hearts of the students, teachers and the community around the school,” Charlene shared. “I was interested in discovering the school has a dispensary where children and teachers get some first aid assistance, the school has a cafeteria where they take lunch and a light breakfast every morning. This is unlike almost all other schools in the entire country.

“I went deeper to see how the school children were doing as far as their mental health is concerned and to see if they needed social support.”

Charlene reflects on the trauma of living in Eastern Congo, where the threat of armed conflict creates instability and fear: “After speaking with a few elementary and secondary school students whose ages range between 6 and 18 years old, I started seeing and feeling the level of trauma among the children. I arrived at the school the same period of time when one of the preschool teachers was returning from hospital after she had survived an attack by gunmen, and she was shot in the face. The school children knew about it, and some children told me they are very much afraid because of what might happen any time to any of them.” 

(Our preschool teacher Pascaline continues to receive treatment for the wounds on her face. The doctor is confident she will fully recover, but it is a slow process. Amani shares: This severe trauma Pascaline is experiencing is another reason why we need to keep raising our voices for peace and justice.)

Charlene continues: “Meeting and speaking to the CPS teachers and students made me feel there is a good reason why I went to Hope International University and studied Psychology, Counseling and Child Development – it’s exactly what my country needs. It needs healing while it also needs repair of the physical infrastructures, but I strongly believe that mentally and emotionally healed people can easily and quickly physically heal and repair their nations.”

Charlene has been working with the student body, teaching them group activities to access healing.  We send a big thank you to Charlene, for using her skills, education, and compassion to help us all in the path to peace and healing.

Charlene with several students in one of the preschool classrooms supported by PILAglobal.

Speaking to students one-on-one, Charlene shares that 11th grader Samuel Mushagalusa is very motivated to read books. He shared that: "Growing up, I never saw a library in my entire life until I started school at Congo Peace School. We must do well in school because we have books. I wish I could meet some of our donors just to say thank you for what they do."

On behalf of student Samuel and his classmates, teachers, and all of us: Thank you! Your giving is changing the world in this visible, concrete way.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
”

— Margaret Mead

More images from Tomaso Lisca's visit to the school:

CPS Computer Lab & Library. Photo by Tomaso Lisca

Amani teaches the practices of regenerative farming to CPS students. Photo by Tomaso Lisca

Hope in the Dark: One Student's Determination

When the entire world seems consumed by unnecessary trauma and violence, I find it difficult to write about hope, and turn often to Rebecca Solnit, whose work and writing is rooted in the investigation of human behavior, and hope in the dark.

““Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth’s treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.””

— Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

 Your partnership with the people of Congo is active hope – it is the daily practice of work that invests in a future led by people who have done the work to heal wounds and know the value of peace and equality.

Perhaps you also need a dose of hope today? Take a moment to look at Anouarite’s determination and joy in these photos and stories.

An orphan who had no one to send her to school, in 2018 Anouarite had enrolled in the adult literacy classes Action Kivu provides for women, and seeing the Congo Peace School built, was determined to attend.

Anouarite, pictured far right in the front row, eyes closed, with some of her Adult Literacy classmates in July, 2018.

Amani showing Anouarite a peace sign in 2018, after she asked him if she could attend the Congo Peace School when it opened.

Thus, when she enrolled in our first year in 2018, Anouarite was older than all her classmates. Her 2nd and 3rd grade teacher Salomé describes Anouarite as a highly committed student, quiet and intelligent, able to learn quickly, with enthusiasm. Anouarite enjoys writing and reading classes, and struggles more with mathematics. "She is an amazing student to teach and have in a classroom,” said Salomé.

Our Founding Director Amani Matabaro recently spoke to Anouarite, now in the fourth grade. “The beginning of the school year was challenging with all the sad news about the pandemic,” she said. “I was worried, but at this point I am not. This year I like being in school and I will be as long as the Congo Peace School can support me. I like teacher Jeanine and how she cares for all of us in the classroom, we are like her own children. Being in a school where I can get food, school uniforms, and medicine gives me a new hope for my future.

Anouarite in 4th Grade, Feb 2022. Photo by Tomaso Lisca

“My favorite parts of the school year so far was two weeks ago when we were told about the importance of tree planting and how they contribute to keep our environment healthy. I like all the writing and reading classes. I like reading and being with friends. The main challenges include not having food if I’m not at school, I have no clothes apart from my school uniforms. I need to learn more in calculations.”

Photo credit: Tomaso Lisca

In February, we had three interns from the Bukavu Higher College of Rural Development who are learning to put their theories into practice at our community farm. The students and staff also planted 400 Grevilea trees around the marsh farm, raised from seed to sapling! The trees bring more birds to the area, and the falling leaves provide good fertilizer mixed with our composting system.

Photo credit: Tomaso Lisca

Amani planting trees with Congo Peace School students, a community neighbor observes. Photo credit: Tomaso Lisca

A bit more about Anouarite’s teachers, as your partnership is also employing women, providing them the means to thrive in their careers, to be examples of women in leadership in their community, and to send their own children to school while bringing home the unique lessons of peace, nonviolence, and equality from the Congo Peace School curriculum.

4th Grade Teacher Kujirakwinja Rutagaya Jeanine is a CPS teacher with 10 years of experience in elementary school teaching. This is her third year at the CPS.  Jeanine is a mother of four, two sons and two daughters. 

"It is lovely having Anouarite as a student, Jeanine said. "She likes school, she has friends in the classroom, and is always ready to bring her classmates together when there is an argument. During classes, she asks a lot of questions in almost all the subjects, she makes lessons alive with interactions. She is very honest."

Salomé wears a Jewish World Watch shirt - one of our amazing partners over the years!

Teacher Fitina Masheka Salomé is one of the CPS elementary school teachers. She’s been an elementary school teacher for 19 years. Not only does she teach the students at the school, she is a mother of seven kids, five daughters and two sons. Over her experience, Salomé has taught in all the elementary school grades and for the last four years since the Congo Peace School opened, she’s taught both 2nd and 3rd grade, and taught Anouarite both of those years.

““Hope just means another world might be possible … Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.””

— Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the DarkQuote Source

Thank you to all our partners for taking action by investing in a world where we can see the positive impact and lasting change of an education rooted in peace, nonviolence, equality, love, and hope.

Congo Peace School Student Stories on MLK's Impact in Their Lives

This January, we honored the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., but at the Congo Peace School, MLK’s teachings of peace and nonviolence are a daily part of life, and are changing lives! The six key principles of nonviolence as taught by Martin Luther King Jr. are part of the core curriculum at the Congo Peace School: The teachers and students study and learn the concepts and then come back together in a reflection meeting. In small groups the students discuss and share ideas about how the principle they focused on can be used as a compass in different everyday life contexts. “It's amazing how the students are interpreting these in their daily lives,” Amani Matabaro, our Founding Director, said. He spoke to several of the students to share what principle most affected their lives this past month.

Best friends Bulonza (age 12) & Iranga (age 11) are classmates in the first grade of secondary school. When the two girls first came to the Congo Peace School their grandparents were involved in a land conflict, and this affected the relationships between the two families.

During a reflection session in a small group sharing thoughts on the principles of nonviolence over the month of January 2022, both Bulonza and Iranga revealed that they have become great friends from the time they were in a group discussion about Principle Two: Nonviolence Seeks to Win Friendship and Understanding. The outcome of nonviolence is the creation of the Beloved Community.*

This principle means a lot to these students; it’s all about achieving a reconciled world by raising the level of relationships among people to a height where justice, love, and peace prevail and people attain their full human potential. Bulonza and Iranga are great friends, and their friendship is the result of the teaching of these principles at the Congo Peace School, Amani reports.

18 year old Samuel is in the 5th grade of secondary school. Samuel lives with his grandparents; they do not know the whereabouts of his parents, if they are even alive. Samuel was willing to share his story to illustrate the change that he has experienced by practicing peace and nonviolence through the Congo Peace School.  He was born from rape and does not know his biological father. All through childhood Samuel lived with what he thought that meant about him, and the social situations it created for him. 

When Samuel first began attending the Congo Peace School, he revealed he hated himself, that he was violent against himself and others. When asked what he learned this past month, Samuel shared he has fallen in love with Kingian Nonviolence Principle Five: “Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence to the spirit as well as the body.”   Samuel says that for some time now, he feels there is no need to hate himself, no need to always be angry and violent against himself and others. For Samuel, the month of January 2022 is a month of determination.  “Even my grandparents have discovered how peaceful I am living with them,” he said.

At 14 years old, Bayubasire is one of the older students in the 1st grade of secondary school. At his age, he would normally be in 3rd grade secondary, but because of the ongoing instability in Congo, he was forced to be out of school for two years. “Education is a right to every child in the world, but these wars in our country are the worst form of injustice imposed on people,” Amani shared.

When asked about what principle of nonviolence stands out for him right now, Bayubasire shared how he loves Principle One: “Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.” Bayubasire said, “It’s only with courage that I am going to catch up on lost time.” Over the past month, he determined to confront life with more courage.
 
*The Six Principles can be found at The King Center

Your investment in the lives of these students cannot truly be measured in terms of the immense impact today as well as long-term, but we can SEE real change occurring, and it is powerful. 

Thank you for choosing to commit to peace, nonviolence, love, and equality for these students and our world!

2021 Matching Grant Drive

As you consider your year-end giving and your connectedness to our brothers and sisters in Congo, please consider giving to Action Kivu! With our Board & Friends Matching Grant Drive, every dollar you donate is doubled up to $10,500, giving us $21,000 to invest in the Congo Peace School and community projects that are daily making a difference in female equality and equity, trauma healing through therapy, education, play, and the arts, peace-informed traditional education, alternative livelihoods / entrepreneurial training, and combating hunger and climate change through regenerative community farming. Donate today!

*For U.S. donors, the expanded tax benefits allow for deductions up to $600 available for cash donations by non-itemizers. Action Kivu is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization (EIN/tax ID number: 27-3537799). Your donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Please share this with family and friends to help us grow our beloved community and meet our matching grant goal by Dec 31st to keep the Congo Peace School and community projects thriving!

Daniel's Dreams & Guided Imagery + Matching Grant Drive through Dec 31

*Matching Grant Drive Through Dec 31st – Thanks to Action Kivu’s board + friends, every dollar you give before Dec 31 2021 will be doubled ‘til we reach $10,500.00 – giving us a year-end goal of $21,000.00.*

It's late November, the time of year in the U.S. when we focus on gratitude and giving thanks, and as I sit writing this outside on a late November day in Southern California, I am grateful for the warm sun, the still chilly air in spots of shade, and the Wi-Fi that reaches from our living room to the small back patio behind our apartment. As I work from home, fully vaccinated and wary as we wait to learn about the new variant of Covid-19 being examined and tracked, I’m acutely aware of how privileged these written words show me to be.

Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday – and as you consider your connectedness with our sisters and brothers around the world, never more evident than over the last two years of this pandemic, we ask that you consider giving to Action Kivu to support projects that are daily making a difference in female equality and equity, trauma healing through therapy, education, play, and the arts, peace-informed traditional education, alternative livelihoods / entrepreneurial training, and combating hunger and climate change through regenerative community farming.

We are excited to share that Amani, our visionary leader and Action Kivu’s Founding Director, finally received his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and will receive his second this week!  The vaccine is not easily accessible to most in eastern Congo, and it’s one more reminder of the inequality we are constantly working to overcome as we partner with communities in Congo.

Life in eastern Congo can be constant trauma – from the trauma of survival in an area of extreme poverty exacerbated by the pandemic, and the trauma of whether the violence of a conflict zone will strike close to home. We are heartbroken to share the news that Pascaline, one of the new teachers at the Congo Peace School’s pre-school program that is hosted and supported by PILA Global, was shot in an armed attack on a matatu (mini-bus) she was riding in as she returned home from picking up medicine for her mother. She survived, but is still in the hospital weeks later being monitored for the gunshot injury to her face and hand.  

In the midst of this, the students at the Congo Peace School must grapple with the reality of violence in their country, in their communities, while studying and putting into practice in their own lives the principles of Martin Luther King Jr.’s practical nonviolence. And we witness their transformation, and what it means for them to have a safe space to be kids – playing, exploring, laughing, dancing.

Part of the school’s curriculum to teach nonviolence and peace and heal trauma includes guided imagery. As the students are encouraged to express themselves, and the teachers and students to view each other as equals, asking questions and fostering curiosity to combat the colonization-era education format of recitation and corporal punishment, they are also guided in healing the trauma of living in a conflict zone.

Amani writes: Guided imagery is one of the mental health interventions that I learned from CMBM (Center for Mind Body Medicine) by Dr Sean Gordon. I have found it to be a great technique in people’s lives, taking a moment to think about the trauma people are going through and imagine a better world, the world we dream about.

Daniel is a Congo Peace School student who drew this image of Congo in violence when he first heard of guided imagery. Daniel describes his drawing as showing the level of trauma the country is confronted with: shootings, people forced to flee, rape, trees being cut down and the environment destroyed. As for the feelings this brings up for Daniel, he said: fear, despair.

Six months later, Daniel drew the New Congo he imagines when he dreams about a better world: A Congo where community members from different tribes live together as a beloved community, a Congo where women celebrate being safe, a Congo with industries transforming the natural resources to benefit everyone, a new Congo with schools, hospitals, where people grow crops to eat and sell. When it comes to industries, Daniel says, why not make electric cars in Congo? I dream of peace!

Daniel’s Dream

(Currently, the sale of minerals mined in Congo that are necessary for electric cars, computers, cell phones, etc. can be used to fund the militias, and do not enrich the lives of the people who mine them. Learn more via the Responsible Minerals Initiative.)

This past weekend, the students gathered for their monthly community clean-up day. They pick up trash and plastic found on the campus and at the community farm, as well as tend to the farm as they do as part of their regular curriculum. Watch a bit of the day here:

Help make the dream of peace a reality in the way we know makes an impact: providing resources in education, peace, healing, food production, and equality training for the people who will be ambassadors for peace. It takes imagination to envision a different way of life, and that is what you are part of when you partner with the Congo Peace School and Action Kivu’s initiatives: providing the glimpse of what can be, and the tools to get us further toward the goal of equality and peace through education.

We are grateful for you! Remember, when you donate* to Action Kivu through Dec 31st, your gift is doubled up to $10,500.00! Help us reach our Matching Grant drive of $21,000 by donating today!

*For U.S. donors, the expanded tax benefits allow for deductions up to $600 available for cash donations by non-itemizers. Action Kivu is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization (EIN/tax ID number: 27-3537799). Your donations are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

Please share this with family and friends to help us grow our beloved community and meet our matching grant goal by Dec 31st to keep the Congo Peace School and community projects thriving!