Ongoing Goals, Plan & Events

Our work is far from over. Connecting Congo would like to bring an additional 25 laptops to the Center along with a projector to aid teachers in their lectures. Once this Center is fully equipped, Connecting congo will proceed with starting a second center in another rural area village.

Connecting Congo is committed to helping improve the education system, but in order to achieve this, it will take a lot of support and financial help! We were organizing a 5K Fun-Run/Walk called "Bridge to an Education" scheduled in April 2011.  But we had to cancel this event due to the lack of turn out of participants in the registration for it. We hope you can still contribute through donation of a laptop or any amount.

Our goal is to raise enough money to equip the first center with the rest of the needed equipment and start the second center.

We believe that each laptop doesn't just change a life, it changes the entire community and the Nation!

The First Connecting Congo Learning Center

David and Mary just returned from a trip to the DRC where they collaborated with the locals in Moba-Port, a town on the coast of Lake Tanganyika, to set up the first Connecting Congo Learning Center. They delivered the first 10 laptops to the Center and then spent two weeks training the first group of teachers (23 people total), who have since gone on to train an additional 60 teachers on how to use the educational programs installed on the programs.

Most of the teachers commented after learning how to use the encyclopedia we installed on the computers that they will "finally be able to teach with confidence!" This was very encouraging for us to hear! Great changes are happening in that village already. People are being empowered and are finding it possible to believe that change will happen and that they can play a part in it.

We will be posting more updates and images soon!

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 31st after having been there since July 25th.  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.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

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.

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 airportFrom 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!

Our Mission Details

Connecting Congo Mission Details

Dr. 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 several years 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.
Dr. 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.
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!!!