Aktive Direkt Hilfe e.V.

Mrs. Manig, spouse of the German ambassador, who supervises mini-projects within the work of the embassy, visits our school project in Mushapo. During our visit of the new school areal, we inspect the old toilets (hole in the ground) and are happy to supply adequate new toilets with water flush, soak aways and hand washing facilities to the school in the near future. Work on the water reservoir has already started, a pit was constructed. We were also able to see, where the newly created health center will be located – the German Embassy sponsors all the three projects. We are greatly indebted to Mrs. Manig, who came all the way to Mushapo under difficult circumstances, and to the German embassy for their enormous support for our project. The fact, that despite many problems the implementation of changes is possible, boosts our hope, if don’t give up.

Lessons moved from the old temporary buildings and the brick building located on the former farm “SADR” to the new brick buildings on our own land. It was a special moment for everyone, for which the children were happy to help by cleaning the school grounds. Since the start of the project in 2011, a dream finally comes true after four exhausting years. Since we had to construct a water reservoir in the beginning in order to collect rainwater before dry season approaches in the following month, construction of the third new school building on our land has now to wait a little while. The possession of a local water supply is crucial for further construction projects, so we do not have to transport water from the nearest river located 80m further below in the valley.

The second school building is almost finished and is soon ready for usage. The windows and doors are built, installed and decorated. This just happened right on time: during a violent storm two weeks ago, the temporary school building, which was exposed the most to the wind, was severely damaged and could no longer be used. Temporarily we use a few smaller farm buildings for lessons of the pupils. This shows that there is an urgent need to complete the new brick buildings on our grounds. Our plan is to have the two buildings completed at the most as soon as possible, so they can be used for lessons. Directly afterwards, we will work on the third building, so that regular school activities can take place in the new buildings. In the planning phase cement has to be provided. One the one hand, it is needed for pooring out the floors of the three school buildings. On the other hand, proper toilets with septic tanks and water reservoirs are planned so as to absorb water in rainy season for dry season.

The masonry of the second school building has been completed. We record a slight delay in the construction of the third building due to transporting the bricks from production to the construction site. Parents, who previously helped with the transport, have to work on their fields at this time of year and are therefore unable to help. Therefore we have to employ to additional workers. These two students from upper school help us twice week transporting the bricks. They are happy to contribute with something to the school, since for an equal standard they would have to visit the secondary school in Tshikapa, which is about 60 km away. That would be too complicated respectively impossible for most of the pupils. Because there is at the moment no rainwater, we had to find new workers to take water from the fountain two km away to construction site.

The construction is proceeding as planned. The roof of the third brick building on our campus is ready and the foundation is being laid. Our 10-hectare property around the new school buildings, which is overgrown with high elephant grass, bushes and small trees, is cleared in preparation for a new agricultural project. In Kinshasa we were able to meet with the German ambassador, Dr. Manig and his wife, who also works at the embassy. Just as the former ambassador both want to further support our project, which is a great help.

Construction work on our third building is back in full swing. Metal sheets are placed and nailed down on the existing wooden rafters for the roof, the trenches for the foundation are dug and more bricks are made for the masonry. Unfortunately we lost 70 bags of cement due to the building freeze because after half a year they cured under the wet weather conditions. For new cement we have to go again to Angola because it is much cheaper there, than in Tshikapa. So Jean went to the Angolan border and bought the required cement which will be transported with cargo bikes to Mushapo. With 5 bags per bicycle, the cement is transported a distance of 100 km and will arrive in Mushapo after 4 to 5 days.

The second school building on the grounds is already half finished. The wooden structure with the tin roof is ready and the foundation is laid. One by one the bricks for the walls are carefully placed. The students from the secondary level help with transporting the bricks from the kiln to the site. At the same time more bricks are burned on the campus for the next brick building. Each of these buildings will consist of 4 classrooms, making the school, along with the two classrooms of the first building, have a total of 10 classrooms made of durable materials. This gives the school a good future because the temporary school buildings, the old farm houses made of mud, will not last much longer. All the other farm houses that were not constantly repaired have collapsed, and it is high time to move the school into the new brick buildings.

So far all attempts were unsuccessful: even the governor of the region of West Kasai was unable to deter chief Mungamba from claiming half of our building materials and lots of money. André organized a meeting with the Minister of Education, Mr. Maker Mwumba, who himself comes from Tshikapa and knows the situation on the ground quite well. He believes that especially in this region of the Congo, where many people are nomadic, schools are very much needed. The nomadic conditions have a negative effect on the level of education of the children, which is why he welcomed our involvement with enthusiasm. The Minister of Education was shocked by the behavior of Chef Mungamba, stepped in, and after a week all our confiscated materials were returned. Now at last we can continue. Shortly thereafter, the Minister informed himself about the situation - A man with vision!