“If we want a better world, we have to make it ourselves.” – Alice Walker
It is only possible to make that better world together, with you! We are already able to see the growth of seeds planted from the power of our collective effort to invest in peace and equality through education.
With Amani’s vision leading the way, that education encompasses formal training inside the classroom and out, from students’ heads bent over books and notepads to their bodies bent over fertile farmland while learning organic growing techniques to feed themselves and the community, while protecting the land. Peace and nonviolence are not only a part of our interpersonal actions, but how we relate to everything in our world, including how we power our days.
Speaking of power – we have exciting news! The Congo Peace School is getting a 10kW solar installation in the coming months that will power our computer learning lab and the dorms (two boarding houses that will eventually serve as a source of sustainable income for the school). The system will replace costly and carbon emitting diesel, representing another element of a peaceful future for the students of the Congo Peace School.
Amani sees the possibilities and power of nonviolence in every aspect of life. As he noted in his conversation with Robin Wright for Action Kivu’s 10-year anniversary celebration, “the generator is costing us money to kill our environment. It is like violence, violence costs money to destroy the world. Yes, it is like hatred, it costs money to destroy what is around us. So the solar system that we are expected to get is not to make a huge and significant difference. It is going to translate our friendship with our environment.”
Watch that clip here!
The solar installation donation was made possible as part of Congo Power, an alliance founded by Google with nonprofit partners RESOLVE and GivePower. The solar modules were donated by Silfab, and the system will be installed by the Congolese solar company Nuru.
Amani reports that August was a very busy month, as the extra-long break from school is coming to an end, and the Congo Peace School is gearing up for year three with extra public health protocols to start school in mid-September with grades 1 – 5 primary and grades 1-4 secondary. The boarding house bathrooms will be finished in one week, now that a brick wall has been finished to provide extra security for their eventual residents. Amani and the staff from year two have been training the new teachers on the principles of a curriculum rooted in Martin Luther King’s tenets of peace and nonviolence.
Faraja, a 16 year old student who, thanks to Jewish World Watch’s grant for year two, transferred last fall to the Congo Peace School from a local school in Mumosho, shared what the school and curriculum means in her life:
"When I heard that I would be transferring to the Congo Peace School, I immediately expected a big difference and change in my life. The first day I came to the school, I liked how students are treated equally, with respect. We were given an orientation and I was so happy to hear we are all equal. I really like the bathrooms with running water, which is not the case in all the other schools in the area, the Congo Peace School is the only school with these facilities.
“We are served a light breakfast and lunch at school each and every school day. At the Congo Peace School, students are not beaten by their teachers, and when you have problems, the school nurse takes care of you and there is always someone to talk to who listens to you when you need support. For me, the school is unique and after a year, it has completely changed my life, even though we had interrupted classes because of the pandemic.”
Amani reports that the experiment of growing rice on the community farm is doing well and will be harvested in December, at which point we will know how much of it will help offset the costs for the daily meals. He also shared the harvest of delicious strawberries.
As we witness growth from the fields of food to the expansion of the students’ hopes and understanding of the power they have as ambassadors of peace, we thank you for your partnership. We couldn’t do this without you! And others: please share with your community to help us grow ours. Thank you for being a part of this movement to create a better, more just world.