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.””
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.””
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.