Since the beginning of our congregational presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1971, and specifically in the Mission of Kansenia, one of the priority was the creation of a “foyer” (school-home). The name of this «foyer», unchanged in the time, is “Kinzala”, which can be translated as “a home that never dries up”.
Accepting the invitation of our Founder, Father Luis Amigó, to be always open to the signs of the times in order to respond to the real needs of the people we want to serve, the sisters who started our mission in Africa, having discovered the precarious situation of the young women training, they launched the foyer project, still existing after 50 years.
The Kinzala foyer aims to an integral promotion of the women, offering to the young women a platform where they themselves are the main agent of their formation, through an active participation in the organized activities and deploying their gifts in a society, as persons created in the image of God and having the right to receive an appropriate education.
In life, all that is important has a high price. Education is one of the important dimensions of each person and the education received by a young women in Kinzala foyer requires a responsible work at all levels, since it does not provides only content, but consists in a training for life.
Many of the young women accessing to the Foyer come from villages quite far from the Mission and do not have sufficient resources to pay the expenses of the boarding school. That is why, “yesterday and today”, the foyer struggles to be self-sustainable, creating self-training and learning strategies, which, at the same time, are a financial support putting into practice the comprehensive education we talked about before.
As Fr. Juan Antonio Vives, TC emphasizes in his book «A man who trusted in God» when he speaks about the Amigonian method in educating people according to Jesus style, the young person «is certainly the main agent of his education. Many educational actions fail when the student is not given the time to value and long for them. Even the best measure may become pernicious and paternalistic, if the student is not in the position to receive it. In education, it is not enough that the educator want to do what is good: it is necessary that the boy or girl like and accept that same thing as good. Luis Amigó gives a great value to the moments of reflection on the student part. He knows that only he who becomes aware of his situation, is able to make a free decision to change ”.
In the Kinzala foyer we have encourages the young woman to be the main agent of their training and, in addition to the literacy or basic general culture courses and secondary school studies, we initiate some of the young women in practical domestic economy. There are spaces to learn sewing and embroider and in a good extension of land belonging to the Foyer they cultivate (corn, beans, peanuts …) and raise animals (pigs, goats, chickens …), for their daily consumption as well as means of financing support of the same Foyer.
- Literacy teaching and general culture. Although it is preferable that young women have finished primary school, we sometimes welcome some who are not able neither to read nor to write, since in many villages there are no schools. For those girls that become aware of the need to train themselves and show their will to learn, we provide an education appropriate for their reality and possibilities.
- Agricultural work: Most of the girls cannot afford the boarding and school expenses in goods. For this reason, they cultivate the fields to cover their basic necessities; among others they cultivate corn, beans, peanuts and various kinds of vegetables that contribute to their daily diet.
- Raising animals. The young women take turns in feeding the pigs, goats, chickens … and cleaning the rooms. The animals are consumed for food in the Foyer, but they are also a source of income because with the money they get from their sale they pay other common expenses, carry out different activities organized in support to the young girls’ own training and buy sewing materials. Everyone does it with enthusiasm and joy.
- Sewing and embroidery workshops. Once they arrive to the Foyer, the young women that have not completed primary school are provided literacy and general culture courses, as we mentioned before, and also practical training; they learn to sew and embroider and that offers them the possibility to start a little trade that later will serve them in their origin places. The tablecloths, dresses, bags and whatever they produce, are for sale and what they get is an income for the Foyer and it contributes to buy new cloth and materials.
During all the years of its existence, a quite high number of young women have passed through the Kinzala foyer and they have learned from the life and for the life. The lack of financial resources has never restrained the desire to train themselves in order to help the others. These women have been responsible leaders in their villages and society; they have formed stable families and have shared with other women what they had learned with the sweat of their brow and through the work of their hands …That is for them a lived experience of self-sustainability that continues to help them to raise their families, putting into practice the popular adage: «Help yourself and the heaven will help you.»
Education is a right but, at the same time, it is a privilege to experiment that we ourselves are tracing our own learning path, valuing the training price. The person who strives to make his training possible is an entrepreneur and is able to adapt to the reality of society, always looking for alternatives allowing him to get out of many situations in which he feels abandoned to his destiny. To achieve that, in the Kinzala Foyer, awareness is a vital tool that helps the young woman to become aware of her reality and to involve herself participating fully in all the proposed activities.
We thank God who accompanies his sons and daughters at all times. All is grace!
VIRGINIE KAZADI TSHILANDA, TC
