Agro-Veterinarian Training in our Mabala High School
In September our High School in Mabala started its second year, adding the 9th grade to the 7th and 8th grade we had in the previous school year. The school teaches a total of 286 students, 180 boys, 106 girls – free of charge. Besides the normal subjects of the governmental curriculum, the students started their first practical agricultural and veterinarian training.
We are very happy to see the first fruits of the latest agricultural project which is located right next to the school. The students from the agricultural section receive hands-on training in growing different vegetables and peanuts as well as in planting avocado, palm nut and banana trees. The school also built a chicken house and received its first rabbits to teach rabbit breeding.
After sowing several crops, the students harvested in November a large quantity of vegetables that the school sold to various mothers who sell it further to gain some support for the school. This is a dream come true: agriculture as sustainable development from which everyone benefits. It creates jobs and support for mothers and their families as well as training for the students and income for the school. Our goal is to expand this development to achieve more independence for the school.
The students of the veterinarian branch went for their first practical training to the nearby farm of the local wood company “Sodefor”, which is helping our project from time to time.
We also built four new toilet cabins next to the school, as the old ones were only temporary. For the time being, ADH still pays the teachers, but BBK is supposed to take over this responsibility soon, as was originally planned and agreed between our two partner-organizations.
Highlights of 2019
Mabala
In March/April, Wolfgang was in Congo and visited our “Agro Veterinary High School ITAV ADH Mabala” to inspect the project as well as to encourage our teachers and students. He also gave soccer balls and jerseys to the pupils. Afterwards he travelled to Lebama, 40 km South of Mabala, and met the farmers who a while back received 500 kg of maize seeds from us for the Maize-Multiplication-Project.
Agronomist Alain was hired to oversee this project and collect the maize we had bought from the farmers. He personally accompanied the transport of the maize to the local Fimi River, then the Kasai River and the Congo River, all the way down to Kinshasa, which was complicated and expensive. After our partner organization BBK sold it in Kinshasa, we found out how difficult this procedure is in trying to raise support for the school.
ADH was able to give some support to our teachers in Tshikapa (former Mushapo School) as well as to our managers, teachers, agronomists, guards and construction workers in Mabala.
Kinshasa
At the Plateau de Bateke, East of Kinshasa, Ing. Jean could harvest a good crop of manioc from the agricultural micro finance project we started with him last year. Wolfgang met with our ADH Congo team and members of BBK to further discuss the next steps of our projects.
We could also again give some support to Madlen in her work with the orphans in the Kimbondo orphanage on the outskirts of Kinshasa as well as help the COLK orphanage in Kinshasa.
Czech Republic
After Wolfgang returned from Congo, we edited a video from his visit there, which you can see here. It gives a lively insight into our projects and life in Congo in general.
Lenka started a new Czech website where we present contents similar to the ”Vitamins for the heart” and she continued with her personal youth counselling.
In June, we were able to raise more awareness about the situation in Congo by giving a speech at the Brumlovka Business Center in Prague, based on Wolfgang’s TEDx talk from the previous year and excerpts from his soon-to-be-completed book. We believe that the greatest assistance we can offer the people in Congo is an information campaign to spread news about events there and try to influence the national and the international politics towards that country.
Germany
In July and August, we visited again our sponsors and supporters in Germany and had our yearly meeting of ADH members. In Munich, we were able to record our 10th interview with Christopher Griebel from the Munich TV, which you can see here (in German).
We are very grateful to Mr. Griebel for providing us a framework for so many years now, to present our work in Congo and encourage people to get involved in ADH’s projects.
Goals for the next year
With your help, we would like to continue to support all the above-mentioned projects, especially aiming at self-support and sustainability of the school and raise more awareness of the situation in Congo.
Thank you so much for your faithful support, which enables us to keep working on these projects – we could not do it without you!
                     
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