From the FPSC, Macarena Cotelo, Director of Projects, and Dorota Kachniarz, Technical Project Manager, traveled to Kinshasa in February to attend the opening of the Mokali primary school, sponsored by the Congregation of the Sacred Heart.
The Mokali school is the last school of the first Convenio agreement, funded by the AECI which began in 2006 to improve education in Democratic Republic of the Congo, to be inaugurated, although it opened its doors in September 2010. The official opening was postponed, at first, because the classes began when the works were not yet finished, and then, for safety reasons: for some time after the general elections in the country, an event of this type could not be arranged due to the inability to travel in the city.
Finally, the opening ceremony was held on February 16, 2012, and was attended by Juan Peña, of the AECI office in Kinshasa. Also attending the event were the community leaders, representatives of the congregation and the parents of the students.
Thanks to the Sacred Heart Congregation, which also runs in the same neighborhood Pere Damien High School and Tondisa Ebalé Vocational Training Centre, this school, which started with two courses and 3 teachers, has annually increased its capacity with more courses and more teachers, so that it now fills 14 classrooms with 500 children who receive a quality education.
Furthermore, due to its location, this school will enable children from disadvantaged families, unable to afford transportation for their children to schools further away, to receive appropriate academic training, as the district Mokali is one of the poorest in the capital. Mokali is a large suburb without access to water, electricity and other basic services, and getting there from the center is nearly three hours away, in part due to bad road conditions.
Moreover, in high school, among other specialties, it offers students the opportunity to study pedagogy, which could enable them to work in the future as teachers in elementary school.
On the part of the FPSC, the Foundation wants to thank Father Antonio for his work and dedication in coordinating the project and the wonderful welcome they gave the FPSC staff. The Foundation owes thanks also to the AECID for its support of projects as wonderful as this one.