When I told people I was going to the Congo, the Democratic of Congo, there were worried faces, shocked and scared ones. ‘Why Congo?’ they ask ed. I said, ‘why not?’ If the sisters in the Congo, yes, THE Congo, not the other Congo (Brazzaville), wanted a volunteer then they would
get one.
My answer was simple, if there was a need for me in Congo then I would go. That is what this calling to serve is all about. Filling a void, being used as needed. I had been warned by people about the conditions in Africa, how I would need to prepare: don’t eat the food you don’t know, cook all your veggies, don’t drink the water, take a mosquito net, wear lots of bug spray, etc. Loads of warnings meant to prepare me I think, it is far better to over-estimate and be surprised than underestimate and be shocked.
Like most developing countries, the distinction between the rich and the poor, the suffering and the striving, is obvious. There are shanty towns, houses built with corrugated steel, dusty roads, and shack like stands selling almost anything. There are also grand maisons, large houses built with concrete, painted in bright colours, with Acadian roof tiles (or something like it), with large concrete fences with barbed wire on-top, long driveways for multiple vehicles, paved roads with markings.
Yesterday, (Day 1), I visited both Salesian communities. I am staying with the Salesian Sisters in Gombe where they have a striving community in the rich part of town. Like many Catholic sisters I have visited and got to know, these Salesian sisters are enterprising. Where there is a need, they fill it, in the most ingenious ways possible.
The Salesian sisters in Gombe, where I am staying, have a beautiful home and school for the twenty-something students and four Sisters that live here during the summer. This school focuses on matieres, professional development, and as such have provided venues for the young girls here aged 13 to 15 to acquire those skills. There is a boulangerie (bakery), a pattiserie
(café/resto), a kiosk (second lunch cafe, less rich, moins cher), a cyber café and a soon to come salon with aesthetic school.
The Salesian sisters in Katunga/Salunga (sp?) have a much bigger estate upon which is built four schools, a bakery and garden. The Sisters provide education to young children (maternelles), primary school aged children, secondary school (secondaire) and something else called scolaire. (I’m still trying to figure out the French.) They also have a boulangerie and two gardens. What they don’t have is electricity. Comme ci, comme ca. It is what is is. They are not suffering, to me, it seems. There is sunshine for light and heat and rain for cooling and water. It is a large estate so they seemed to be self-sufficient. I may be wrong, but that was the impression I got. There is still great need but they seemed okay, not destitute.
Both communities, though different in some respects, are the same in the core values and principles. These Sisters aim to help the children, educate the young, cherish them and give them values, hope and opportunity.
It’s not as bad as you think. It is actually better. My room at the school puts my hostel to shame. In Paris, I prepared myself for this trip and saved money by staying in a hostel. I made friends sharing with two others at a time. Our bathrooms were down the hall. Shared showers and toilets. Sheets and towels were rented. Only one plug to share among three people. The bed felt like a 10 year old futon. At the school, I have my own room, a desk, a comfy bed, comes with mosquito net, my own bathroom, sheets, bedding and a towel, two plugs and air-conditioning--which I don’t need because it is cool in Congo at the moment.
At breakfast the morning after I arrived, after mentioning my gluten and dairy allergies in French at dinner the night before, there was delicious gluten-free, multi-grain bread. Imagine my surprise, upon surprise.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was the fastidiousness of the Sisters. I wasn’t as humble as I had hoped to be, because I came expecting the worst and wanting to help and share my skills, only to see that this community is doing pretty darn well. Where I thought I could share my baking
skills, they have a school for that; my hosting skills, again a school for that. I was starting to feel unneeded, plus my French is ragged at best.
Then, one of my unique skills became evident and valued. English! Ha, who would have thought that my desire to teach English in a foreign country would be realized in French-speaking Congo? Who would have thought that my degree in English Language and Literature would be of such
great value. I had a long chat with the Superior here, Sister Yolande, and through my broken French, she ascertained I have lots of skills and added value, just a matter of figuring out how to use them. My spoken and written English is pretty darn good and I can teach it while learning French, (yippee), I sing and can harmonize and the girls want to learn English songs, I sew and
there is a need to sew uniforms for next September’s classes. Lots to do here, just have to figure out what. It's all good and I'm looking forward to discovering more.
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