Back to Basics – School Year 2024-25

A Letter from José Jones, mission co-worker serving in Congo

Fall 2024

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Dear friends,

The new school year in Congo began on September 2. We pray that students will be engaged in their studies and do their best to learn. As students in the United States work on their lessons in reading, writing and arithmetic, our young siblings in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) do the same, weighed down by other burdens that pull their attention away from learning.

Elder Jossard Mukendi of CPK KasaVubu Parish presents the SYTL Reading Group to the congregation for prayer in Pastor Nsibula Lamek’s church.

In mid-2022, there was an outbreak of a virus, discovered around 1960, that could be transmitted between humans and animals. Originally called (first found among animals used for research), the virus now has two variants. The second variant spread between humans, is much more contagious and impacts the health of children under 15 years of age.

War, population and migration, among other things, create a “quiet storm” for the spread of monkeypox (now called Mpox) throughout its endemic terrain and, specifically, in the DRC. Of the 26 provinces in the DRC, Mpox infection has been reported in 22 of them. Reports of Mpox in the mission area of our partners in the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) are serious. Let me explain why.

The DRC is a large country and is about a third of the size of the United States. The capital city of Kinshasa is home to more than 16 million people! For comparison, Dayton, Ohio, a city of 135,000 people, covers about 56 square miles. Kinshasa is about the same size and covers about 58 square miles. But with 16 million people, Kinshasa has a very high population density and about half of its population is under 15 years of age.

So, you see, our concern that this little virus has made its way into the provinces where CPK has churches and schools is warranted! At a time when the little ones gather again to learn and build upon the basics of education, it is also important that they understand the basics of hygiene.

Directrice Lutumba and Prefect Kalonji of Masina Educational Complex receive handwashing stations to begin the 2024-25 school year.

Handwashing is the easiest, most cost-effective way of preventing the spread of disease. The COVID-19 handwashing stations distributed during the 2020-22 pandemic, benefitted the fight against cholera and other contagious diseases as well as COVID. Many of these stations had been retired but they are needed today! Mpox is spread by contact.

On another front, the transition between dry and rainy season results in reduced school attendance. During the rainy season, the effluence of bacteria can be washed away by the rains but during the dry season the bacteria is concentrated in the water as water becomes more scarce. Bathing in and consuming these tainted waters causes illness and death each year. Carrying heavy bacterial loads also impacts student energy and their ability to concentrate and learn. Another basic need, to accompany the educational basics, is instruction in clean water technology.

Rev. Mudekereza Nsibula Lamek is the Director of the Environmental Discipleship Department for the Kalamu Presbytery of the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK). He is working with the churches of his presbytery and others within the CPK to succeed in the fight against hunger by teaching families living in the city to raise crops via vertical sack farming. It is hoped that these crops will supplement the families’ nutritional needs and potentially be a source of extra income. Rev. Lamek and I met with PC(USA) mission co-worker Jim McGill (serving in Niger) to discuss the UNICEF Water Sanitation and Hygiene Program (WASH) program and integrate it into the classes his program provides in the school-church collaborations on eco-gardens and creation care education in CPK communities.

Saying Yes to Life by Dr. Ruth Valerio was the Archbishop of Canterbury’s featured book for Lent in 2020.

In a nutshell, Rev. Lamek uses the book Saying Yes to Life (SYTL) and the Bible to sensitize participants to how human behaviors affect global climate change, based on the biblical creation narrative. On the first day of creation, light (energy) was created as part of God’s provision to the world. On the second day, the waters were separated from the land and declared good. In their discussions of SYTL, the participants learn about creation and how our behaviors help or hurt God’s good creation and affect the environment. The developing world bears the disproportional brunt of the effects of world pollution and climate change (i.e., violent storms that affect infrastructure and threaten life).

Jim McGill told us about some ceramic filters, which utilize technology that is accessible in DRC, that can, not only, filter bacteria and parasites but also remove some viruses from the water. He also shared how churches in Madagascar (who work with PC(USA) mission co-worker Dan Turk) have declared themselves “green” and are organized for action in a way we in CPK can learn from.

Getting back to the basics of caring for the physical world but also sharing best practices among God’s people is what will not only help us fight disease and human suffering but also lend a helping hand to the children who strive to find their place in today’s technological, fast-paced world through dedicated effort to their studies.

Please keep our siblings of the DRC in your prayers as they not only endeavor to improve their lives through learning but also face the challenges of Mpox and strive to answer God’s call to be stewards of creation.

Your prayers and support are needed.

José