Mary’s Connecting Congo Trip Update

“Finally, we can teach with confidence!” This was said by an individual in the first group of people that my husband and I trained how to use a computer. David & I just returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 31^st after having been there since July 25^th. We spent that time training a group of 22 people, mainly consisting of teachers and a few individuals that had volunteered to help.

This was my first time in Africa and it was definitely life changing. Most of the time, the only information in the media about Congo has to do with war, rebels, starvation, corruption, or kleptocracy. What I experienced while there for a month was anything but the aforementioned. I was so warmly welcomed into their community– rich with gratitude, joy, dedication, and perseverance. They ARE survivors.

Watching the first group (who have now gone on to train the second and third group of people, each consisting of 20 more teachers) explore the possibilities presented to them on the laptop was indescribable. David and I bought and installed Microsoft Encarta Student Edition (an encyclopedia) in French on all of the laptops that were compatible with that program. All we could hear was the light clicking of the mouse as the group got to experience the ability to see pictures or videos and hear recordings of things that they had only read or heard about. I walked past one table that was researching common diseases in their country. One of the people gave me a thumbs-up and a huge smile, limited by the ability to speak to me since I am not yet able to speak French or Swahili. The expression of joy on his face was very evident.

On several occasions, I got teary-eyed as I watched in awe as all of these people, so academically repressed for decades, get to explore an entire different world of information. All I could do was hug David and thank God for this opportunity to finally do something. The people in Moba-Port (along with many other rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo) have been craving knowledge for so long. We travelled for a week and a half to several different areas (including some very deep villages) within the Katanga province and the education system was the resounding area of infrastructure that every location specified needed to be improved.

I would say that the best part of my experience in DRC was seeing how the community in Moba-Port has claimed Connecting Congo as their own. They demonstrated a huge sense of pride in it and have taken full-responsibility for maintaining the center. We just received a call today from one of a people in the first group we trained that stated that they want to contribute! He informed us that the people in the community (who have completed the training on the computers) have unanimously agreed to donate $1.00 every month in order to cover the costs of electricity and have some in reserve to help maintain the equipment. Again, that brought tears to my eyes. Have you ever heard of the residents from the very place where an organization provided “aide” calling back the organization and saying that “We want to help.” David’s and my goal was to provide the center at no cost to the public and yet, they have once again exceeded our expectations. We were going to be more than happy to pay for the cost of electricity and maintenance but are so elated to see that there is a new movement happening in that village— they are feeling empowered! For the first time in decades they feel like there is HOPE! I cannot say thank you enough to everyone that has contributed! I want to especially say thank you to Sonja, Heidi, and Abby for donating their laptops! I also want to thank the following people that have donated financially to this project: Barbara, Angela & Tyler, Lise, Richard, Dorothy, Rosemary, & Linda. David and I also want to thank Abby and Lydia for all of their efforts while we were in the Congo. You have all immensely inspired that community to apply themselves, knowing that they are no longer alone in their efforts and that someone cares about them!

Thank you once again,

David & Mary Manda, Co-Founders/Directors

Trip Update – making our way to Nairobi

We are now in Tanzania and are slowly making our way to Nairobi. We decided to spend a few days here just to rest finally after an even LONGER bus ride than we were expecting. Instead of being 18 hrs, it ended up being about 20 hours! WAAAAY too long!

Greetings from Tanzania!

Hello everyone!

Well, we finally made it to Tanzania! Today we are in Mbeya and will be leaving for Arusha tomorrow morning at 6:00 am. It is going to be a VERY long bus ride. David said that it will take about 18 hrs. :-S Boy am I going to be ready to stretch my legs when we are done. The trip to see David's family was amazing! I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to write throughout our journey and send updates. We didn't have any Internet connection until now because we didn't have time.

David's family was amazing! I was so grateful for their VERY warm welcome! The only disappointment this trip is that David's school notified us that they now won't be able to have him defend his dissertation until October. GRRRR!!! It is soooooo frustrating! Now I won't be able to watch him. I guess we'll just have to send the video camera along with him.

Connecting Congo is off to a very good start in Moba-Port. The community's support is INCREDIBLE! They have been waiting for an opportunity like this for a very long time. They have volunteered many hours to help fix up the center. We paid to have electricity officially set up in the center. We also spent a little over 1 week intensely training them training them on how to use programs like Word, Microsoft Encarta, & Powerpoint.  We also spent one night working on Excel with three of the members so that they would be able to update the sign-in sheet. The group is starting to train the second group of teachers today. It was a little bit difficult for us on one of the days. David had to ask one of the people to leave the center. He completely crashed one of the computers simply because he would not follow directions. He was starting to destroy a second computer when one of the students spoke up and told David and I about the classes' concern. It was really challenging for us at first but we were both very impressed with their amount of dedication to protecting the equipment and making sure to hold one another accountable.  I have no doubts that Connecting Congo will continue to improve the education system even in out absence. The group proved that to us time and time again.

The campaigning has also been going amazing! We have travelled to all of the exterior main villages. We had to go on a few VERY long and adventerous boat rides to get there.  It was completely worth it though.  The people expressed so much joy to finally meet me and kept calling me their Shamegi (Sister-in-law). This was the first time that a "white" has gone to their villages without condescension or the idea that the people are helpless. It was so wonderful getting to help empower them to believe again! I can't wait to go back.  Saying goodbye was very difficult. It is definitely a 2nd or 3rd or 4th home. I keep losing track of how many homes I have now.

Well, David and I want to go get some rest before our LONG bus drive of resting tomorrow. hehe I will write again once we reach Arusha. Please pray for us. God has definitely been protecting both of us this trip and we feel his presence every single day. Much love and thanks to all of you! Miss you all! We will be back in the US on August 31st!

Mary’s Hello from Lubumbashi!

Hello Everyone!*

I apologize in advance for any misspelled words and lack of punctuation. We are using an Internet cafe in Lubumbashi, and I am typing on a French keyboard that has quite a few of the letters rubbed off so I can't tell where some of the keys are. Nevertheless, I am thankful for the Internet connection.

We are both doing amazing! David's family has been so welcoming and encouraging. The food and culture has been amazing as well. Today a police office got out of his car and when he saw us walking to catch a bus at the station, he let me sit in the front seat and had his driver take us to the Internet cafe and then go back to pick him up. I was so surprised! That is not the Congo that the media presents to the public.

The only problem we have had is that our luggage still has not arrive from Ethiopia. It is not expected to arrive until Thursday now. It is very frustrating since we didn't get to pack anything in our carry-on luggage except the laptops. They are all safe and sound so far. We are very thankful.

We are not sure which day we will be leaving Lubumbashi. For now, much love and thanks are being sent your way.

Mary Manda
Connecting People, Creating Chances, Cultivating Futures

*edited for typos & grammar due to the nature of Mary using a French keyboard!

David & Mary made it to Paris!

Connecting Congo stops at the Paris airport From an email update from Mary at the Paris airport:

The good news– we made it to Paris. The bad news, we missed our flight to Madrid (By minutes). It was so frustrating. For some reason in Paris, they require you to go through the airport security checkpoint again, where we had to go through the tedious process of unloading the eleven laptops (2 personal + 9 more for the organization– +1 that's already in Moba-Port), and putting each of them individually into a bin. We were both so frustrated. David tried to talk to them and explain the situation but they were quite stubborn. So now, instead of getting to leave Paris for Madrid at 9:30 am, we don't get to leave until 4:30. We are disappointed… but at least we made it through with all of our laptops! We are VERY thankful for that! Right now we are both extremely tired. We both slept for about 1-2 hours on the plane. Currently it is around 11:15 am in Paris and 2:15 in Seattle. Right now, I would love a shower and something to put my feet up on. hehe

Thank you for all of your support everyone! It is so encouraging for me to know that each of you are standing with us in this quest to create change! We are so grateful to each of you!

Leaving for Spain!

Mary & David are leaving for Spain today, on their way to defend David's dissertation. Then they will be off to Moba, Congo. Check back for more updates from their trip!

Coming in October! Fundraising Event: 5K Fun Run/Walk “Bridge to an Education”

October 10, 2010 @ 10:00 am. 5K fun run-walk "Bridge to an Education"

Please check back for more information and details – including a registration form.

Our Mission Details

Connecting Congo Mission Details

Feel free to download this as a PDF to share with your friends and family!

David Suze Manda, one of the founders of Connecting Congo, had the opportunity to travel to Moba-Port, DRC this past December. He spoke with community members and in many of the classrooms to find out what areas they would like to see improved. There was an immediate cry for an improvement in and access to their education system. Many were able to recognize the direct correlation between the lack of an innovative education system in DRCongo and the country´s current state of turmoil and lack of development. David and Mary want to focus their efforts on one of the root causes and give people the resources they need to help empower them to become the change their country needs.

He spent 4 weeks researching the current situation and found it to be very disappointing. Very little, if anything at all, has changed since he attended school in Moba-Port over 15 years ago. Teachers are forced to teach in setups that are lacking very basic materials including textbooks, current information, and access to continued education. The textbooks that are scattered among the school district are over 30 years old are far and few between. Most teachers have to use the notes that they took when they were students, for their teaching materials. The lack of learning and teaching materials and reality of its impact, was made very real to Mary when one student heard that David was going to be travelling to Moba-Port and asked him to bring her a French dictionary. Out of the all the things she could have asked for, the only thing she was wanting was a dictionary.

David and Mary decided to start a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization called Connecting Congo, an organization focused on improving the education system in rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Their first efforts are being focused on Moba-Port in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are currently travelling to Moba-Port to establish the first phase of an Internet Learning Center. They were able to collect 10 used laptops—many of them donated, and reformatted all of them. David installed different learning programs on the laptops including Microsoft Encarta Student Edition in French. Benches and tables are already being built for Connecting Congo´s facility, by a local man in Moba-Port. David and Mary were unable to gather enough funds to establish an internet connection in Moba-Port this trip, but are hoping to be able to do so in the near future.

Having spent a lot of time talking with the residents in Moba-Port, the overall consensus was that the community of approximately 60,000 people also needs to have a bridge built over the Kizye River. It is approximately 10 meters wide and 5 meters in depth when at its highest. About 15 years ago, the previous bridge was washed out by the river’s current and has never been replaced due to a lack of funding and resources. This particular river separates the main residential area from their farms, schools (high schools and elementary), cemetery, and churches.

When it rains abundantly, which is frequently does, the children and youth are unable to attend school. If they had already made it across the river before it rained, then they will consequently become trapped on the other side of the river and have to wait to cross it until the current slows down and the water recedes. This is devastating to their community and to their futures. One teenage boy in high school lamented to David about how difficult it is for them to get to school and how they just want to be able to learn so that they can help foster positive changes and development in their community.

Connecting Congo realized how important this bridge is to help provide an opportunity to consistent education. The students’ ability to attend school should not be dictated by Mother Nature. Connecting Congo is currently trying to collect funds—a project estimated to cost $10,000, to build a bridge across the Kizye River in order to improve access to education. Connecting Congo is hoping to hold its first annual 5K fun run-walk this October 10, 2010 called “Bridge to an Education.” Once Moba-Port´s Internet Learning Center is fully established, Connecting Congo will research and select another rural area in DRC to create opportunities for improved education.

Thank You Sonja in Minnesota!

A BIG thank you to Sonja in MN for donating three laptops!!!

Thank you Abby for your laptop donation!

Thank you Abby for donating a very friendly used laptop

Connecting Congo Mission Details

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