Author’s Note -- Dec. 9, 2015 | by Elsa Marston
This story about a school for refugee Congolese children actually started while Ann Marie Peterson was a teenager, the child of American missionaries in the Congo. She loved the country and its people, and hoped that someday she might help them in return for all they had given to her own life. Now an adjunct professor at Indiana University (Bloomington), she and her husband, Dr. James Calli, have found a way to do so: by starting an educational organization called Giving Back to Africa.
But how to get going on such a huge mission? Well, as the Congolese people say, Malembe, malembe, tokoyebela vision: “Slowly, slowly, one step at a time—and we will realize the vision.” At first, Giving Back to Africa helped train university students, but in 2011 the organization decided to focus on younger children. That “one step” therefore has targeted one school, in one refugee camp—in such a way that its success can ultimately help many children in the Congo.
The school building was already in place, an orphanage and school in a desperately poor refugee camp that dated back to the 1960s near Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had originally been founded in 2001 by childhood friends of Ann Marie’s, in memory of their father, Pastor Babese, a close friend and colleague of Ann Marie’s parents.
The school, called the College des Savoirs (school of knowledges), has more than 200 students enrolled in grades 1 to 10, with instruction in French. What distinguishes the College des Savoirs is the innovative educational philosophy that Giving Back to Africa is helping to develop in its classrooms. The “three R’s” of standard education required by the Congolese government are taught in a framework of real-life subject matter, which drives the whole curriculum.
Here’s how it works. Each year the children themselves choose a major topic or issue that affects everyone in the community. For instance, one year it might be water: where we get our water, the importance of clean water, disposing of dirty water, and so forth. The next year the major topic might be nutrition, or waste management, or health and hygiene. Then the teachers, who are all Congolese, help the students narrow down the major topic to a “driving question”; and working with Giving Back to Africa, they jointly design simple five-lesson units. For both students and teachers, lessons dealing with problems that the children see all around them are rarely dull! As they learn to analyze a particular aspect of the major topic, then propose solutions, achieve change, and apply these techniques to the next “driving question,” the students grow in many ways.
A long-range objective of the College des Savoirs is to provide a model for schools elsewhere in Africa, and thus inspire and train the leaders of tomorrow. No miracles are expected, of course; the path is still rocky. But Malembe, malembe, we will realize the vision.
Already there has been profound effect on teachers and students, especially in changing attitudes and behavior. Teachers have significantly improved their methods, moving away from the traditional teach-to-the-test approach, which emphasizes “right answers” and shaming, and encouraging, instead, a student-centered approach. From team work, observation, and evaluation of their actions, students have developed self-confidence, leadership skills, and democratic experience. In public forums, they share what they’ve learned with their parents, community members, and guests from outside the camp. Service days, such as cleaning up trash on the main road. are another part of the community-oriented learning. Parents, too, are starting to talk about the positive changes they see in their children.
Since 2013, two Rotary clubs in Bloomington, Indiana, plus the Rotary Club of Washington, Indiana, have developed, with the help of Giving Back to Africa, an international partnership with a Rotary club in Kinshasa (Rotary Club Gombe). They have been working on improvement of the school’s infrastructure. Already finished, or in the works, are renovation of three classrooms, construction of a rainwater collection system, and a fence to enclose a future garden plot that will be managed by the children. The international Rotary team has also installed a book cabinet in each classroom and plans to provide books, with appropriate age and cultural themes, for these mini-libraries.
Now, how did this book get started? Giving Back to Africa has been gaining support in the United States, including a student chapter at Indiana University. A Bloomington boy, Morgan Scherer—still in high school at the time—learned about the university chapter from his sister Kaylie, an IU student, and started attending meetings. Fired up, he decided to add an extra dimension to his plans for a solo hike on the Appalachian Trail in the summer of 2013. Why not try to raise some money for the College des Savoirs by asking for pledges from family, friends, and service-oriented groups such as Rotary clubs? Sure enough, Morgan’s idea took off.
I found myself drawn into the project as a writer who focuses on literature for young people about the Middle East and North Africa—and as Ann Marie’s fellow-member of the Bloomington Rotary Club. When she asked me to write a short book about Morgan’s hike, to show children at the College that people far away in America cared about them and their school, I could hardly say No. In fact, I saw more possibilities. Along with Morgan’s account of his Appalachian Trail hike, why not a “partner story” set in the strife-ridden Congo? A fictitious story about a boy who has to flee his home and walk till he reaches safety—and a school that will change his life—could provide a dramatic and meaningful link.
Morgan’s story is based on real life, much of it in his own words from interviews and reports written on the trail. Mobembo’s “made up” story is meant to typify the experiences of countless young people in the Congo and other places where warfare has driven people from their homes. Having never visited the Congo, I have had to rely on book research and the help of Ann Marie and her brother, Dr. Richard Peterson.
I have tried to make the descriptions of people, their land and ways of life, their behavior and emotions, as “true” as possible. To create a story, however, I have also had to rely on the author’s basic tool: careful and respectful imagination. And admittedly, a certain literary license. For instance, I found it impossible to describe the route of Mobembo’s journey with geographic accuracy. Rather, it suggests the variety of land and water that the refugees would encounter as they make their way from eastern Congo to Kinshasa in the west. And of course that long walk in the Congo would have taken much, much longer than Morgan’s hike on the Appalachian Trail.
It has been both a challenge and great pleasure to undertake this book. I hope it will add to the good work done worldwide by organizations such as Rotary clubs and Giving Back to Africa—and will offer a boost to the futures of the children in the Congo.
Post Script: At the start of his hike, Morgan hoped it would give him insights about his future path in life. So, what is he doing now? He’s a student at Indiana University, working toward a bachelor’s degree in public affairs with concentration on environmental management. As for “Mobembo” and “Mokano,” we wish them a bright future as students at the College des Savoirs and, farther down the road, as vigorous, engaged citizens of a democratic and peaceful Congo.
But how to get going on such a huge mission? Well, as the Congolese people say, Malembe, malembe, tokoyebela vision: “Slowly, slowly, one step at a time—and we will realize the vision.” At first, Giving Back to Africa helped train university students, but in 2011 the organization decided to focus on younger children. That “one step” therefore has targeted one school, in one refugee camp—in such a way that its success can ultimately help many children in the Congo.
The school building was already in place, an orphanage and school in a desperately poor refugee camp that dated back to the 1960s near Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had originally been founded in 2001 by childhood friends of Ann Marie’s, in memory of their father, Pastor Babese, a close friend and colleague of Ann Marie’s parents.
The school, called the College des Savoirs (school of knowledges), has more than 200 students enrolled in grades 1 to 10, with instruction in French. What distinguishes the College des Savoirs is the innovative educational philosophy that Giving Back to Africa is helping to develop in its classrooms. The “three R’s” of standard education required by the Congolese government are taught in a framework of real-life subject matter, which drives the whole curriculum.
Here’s how it works. Each year the children themselves choose a major topic or issue that affects everyone in the community. For instance, one year it might be water: where we get our water, the importance of clean water, disposing of dirty water, and so forth. The next year the major topic might be nutrition, or waste management, or health and hygiene. Then the teachers, who are all Congolese, help the students narrow down the major topic to a “driving question”; and working with Giving Back to Africa, they jointly design simple five-lesson units. For both students and teachers, lessons dealing with problems that the children see all around them are rarely dull! As they learn to analyze a particular aspect of the major topic, then propose solutions, achieve change, and apply these techniques to the next “driving question,” the students grow in many ways.
A long-range objective of the College des Savoirs is to provide a model for schools elsewhere in Africa, and thus inspire and train the leaders of tomorrow. No miracles are expected, of course; the path is still rocky. But Malembe, malembe, we will realize the vision.
Already there has been profound effect on teachers and students, especially in changing attitudes and behavior. Teachers have significantly improved their methods, moving away from the traditional teach-to-the-test approach, which emphasizes “right answers” and shaming, and encouraging, instead, a student-centered approach. From team work, observation, and evaluation of their actions, students have developed self-confidence, leadership skills, and democratic experience. In public forums, they share what they’ve learned with their parents, community members, and guests from outside the camp. Service days, such as cleaning up trash on the main road. are another part of the community-oriented learning. Parents, too, are starting to talk about the positive changes they see in their children.
Since 2013, two Rotary clubs in Bloomington, Indiana, plus the Rotary Club of Washington, Indiana, have developed, with the help of Giving Back to Africa, an international partnership with a Rotary club in Kinshasa (Rotary Club Gombe). They have been working on improvement of the school’s infrastructure. Already finished, or in the works, are renovation of three classrooms, construction of a rainwater collection system, and a fence to enclose a future garden plot that will be managed by the children. The international Rotary team has also installed a book cabinet in each classroom and plans to provide books, with appropriate age and cultural themes, for these mini-libraries.
Now, how did this book get started? Giving Back to Africa has been gaining support in the United States, including a student chapter at Indiana University. A Bloomington boy, Morgan Scherer—still in high school at the time—learned about the university chapter from his sister Kaylie, an IU student, and started attending meetings. Fired up, he decided to add an extra dimension to his plans for a solo hike on the Appalachian Trail in the summer of 2013. Why not try to raise some money for the College des Savoirs by asking for pledges from family, friends, and service-oriented groups such as Rotary clubs? Sure enough, Morgan’s idea took off.
I found myself drawn into the project as a writer who focuses on literature for young people about the Middle East and North Africa—and as Ann Marie’s fellow-member of the Bloomington Rotary Club. When she asked me to write a short book about Morgan’s hike, to show children at the College that people far away in America cared about them and their school, I could hardly say No. In fact, I saw more possibilities. Along with Morgan’s account of his Appalachian Trail hike, why not a “partner story” set in the strife-ridden Congo? A fictitious story about a boy who has to flee his home and walk till he reaches safety—and a school that will change his life—could provide a dramatic and meaningful link.
Morgan’s story is based on real life, much of it in his own words from interviews and reports written on the trail. Mobembo’s “made up” story is meant to typify the experiences of countless young people in the Congo and other places where warfare has driven people from their homes. Having never visited the Congo, I have had to rely on book research and the help of Ann Marie and her brother, Dr. Richard Peterson.
I have tried to make the descriptions of people, their land and ways of life, their behavior and emotions, as “true” as possible. To create a story, however, I have also had to rely on the author’s basic tool: careful and respectful imagination. And admittedly, a certain literary license. For instance, I found it impossible to describe the route of Mobembo’s journey with geographic accuracy. Rather, it suggests the variety of land and water that the refugees would encounter as they make their way from eastern Congo to Kinshasa in the west. And of course that long walk in the Congo would have taken much, much longer than Morgan’s hike on the Appalachian Trail.
It has been both a challenge and great pleasure to undertake this book. I hope it will add to the good work done worldwide by organizations such as Rotary clubs and Giving Back to Africa—and will offer a boost to the futures of the children in the Congo.
Post Script: At the start of his hike, Morgan hoped it would give him insights about his future path in life. So, what is he doing now? He’s a student at Indiana University, working toward a bachelor’s degree in public affairs with concentration on environmental management. As for “Mobembo” and “Mokano,” we wish them a bright future as students at the College des Savoirs and, farther down the road, as vigorous, engaged citizens of a democratic and peaceful Congo.