EDUCATION IS A PRIVILEGE

What in many countries is taken for
granted, in others is a utopia.
Education, that consists in the harmonious
development of the physical,
mental and spiritual faculties with the
purpose of preparing man to serve in
society, is a privilege that not all human
beings have.
In fact, illiteracy, that runs parallel to
misery, is one of the evils that affects
society on our days. Whole continents
have a high rate of people who do
not know how to read and write. This
also affects the spreading out of the
gospel since the study of God’s word is
invaluable for our spiritual growth.
In Africa, where the percentage of
children is very high, it is shocking
and even painful to see that education
is actually a luxury that just a few can
afford.

God’s grace recently made it possible
for me to visit Congo and I wish to
share this experience with you. This
story surely repeats itself in many
African countries where not even
primary education is for free.

A VISIT TO THREE
OF OUR SCHOOLS IN
LUBUMBASHI

We are in the Republic of Congo (ex
Zaire). A three and a half hours fl ight
takes us from Kinshasa, the capital, to
Lubumbashi, a city on the southeast
part of the country. Since it is an area
rich in copper, the appearance of the
city, beginning from the airport, is
more acceptable. Our brothers and
sisters are very joyful to see us and so
are we. Their hospitality and warmth
move our hearts. They have some
plans for us that include the visit of
three of their schools.
It is drizzling as we get off the hired
mini-bus in the muddy premises of a
primary school with 160 children.
They are all standing outside singing a welcome song. Two students

walk forward and read us some lines
confirming the fact that we are most
welcome.
Our visit seems to be a big event. One
girl approaches me and hands me a
bunch of plastic flowers.
Having seen enough of the condition
in which the people live in that country
devastated by war, I fear someone was
deprived of a meal so that I could get
those flowers.
Such a thought makes me feel like
running away, but as usual, I run to Jesus
and plead for forgiveness and cleansing
while I stay there and go through the
whole ceremony.
We visit the classrooms, stepping on
the mud. There are a few benches and
a blackboard. The walls are naked. The
children look at us with big eyes full of
expectation, but we have nothing to give
them, not even a promise. In one class
every child has a book. I make a positive
comment. The teacher tells us that Unicef
has provided them with books and some
material but because the infrastructure
of the school was so deplorable they
withdrew the assistance.
We are led to a tiny little office by the
headmistress and she asks us to sign in
the „golden book”. I wish I could wet its
pages with tears but my eyes are dry. I
write a few words of encouragement and
consolation while shame and frustration
take hold of me.
We are informed most children are
refugees of war and do not pay. They
read us a letter expressing their goals and
needs. They seem to see in us their only
hope.

AT THE BORDER WITH
ZAMBIA

We get into the mini bus and travel
about fifty minutes to a small village
at the border with Zambia. It is about
12.30 and we meet some children on
the muddy streets who are already going
home. Most of them are bare-footed.
As they see us coming they rush back
to school and gather in the church that
during the week serves as a classroom.
We visit the classrooms made of brick
by the brothers in the church. There is
cement on the floor and iron sheets as
a roof. They tell us that a brother who
visited them from Europe was touched
by what he saw and started a campaign
to help the children in Congo. Thanks to
his initiative many children could attend
school. I am touched to know that there
are hearts moved to help when seeing
such misery.
As we enter the church the choir starts
to sing. The children are pressed together
on the benches. All eyes are fixed on
us, the foreigners. There are a couple
of children who look alike. They both
seem to be about three years old. I ask if
they also have a nursery school. They tell
me that those children have a retarded
growth due to undernourishment and
they are actually six years old. There
is a little girl who keeps on smiling at
me. I smile back and we communicate
in a very special way by exchanging
smiles and eye contact while the official
ceremony goes on. In this school I am not
specially honored with flowers and there

is no prepared speech. They do not
even have a „gold book” for „V.I.Ps”.
Maybe that is why that school entered
deeper into my heart. The coordinator
of education tells us the children do
not even have pencils and they write
everything in one single notebook.
Those who pay give 200 Franks
per month (1U$ = 300 Franks) and
teachers get U$7 a month, equivalent
to two meals for a family of six!
We get into the mini bus after trying
hard to clean our shoes from the mud.
The little smiley girl follows us and as
we leave she keeps on smiling at me,
jumping and making gestures that
express her happiness and approval of
our visit.

VISITING A HIGH
SCHOOL

We drive back to Lubumbashi to visit
a high school. The building belongs to
the government and they can have it
only for a year, then they have to build
their own. They already have a plot and
have made their own bricks, but they
need support to finish it. The students
are outside and welcome us with their
songs. Again we are approached by two
students who read out of a sheet of paper
their short welcome speech. Again I
receive plastic flowers. I know they are
the most expensive flowers I have ever
got and they should be the dearest to
me. I ask the Lord to make me treasure
these moments in my heart. We are taken
to the teachers’ office and they read us a

document with all their requirements:
a school building, teaching material,
support for the teachers’ salaries, etc.
They have 110 students but only 51
pay. The fee is 1500 Franks per month
(about 5 dollars) Teachers are paid
2.500 per month (about U$ 9) We visit
the classrooms and one of us says a
few words of encouragement to the
students. We are again led to the office
to sign in the „golden book” before we
leave the premises. They explain us
that the school is a missionary field.
Our message touches the children’s
hearts, teachers come looking for a
mean of survival and are also touched
and some parents are converted
through the report of their children.
Education in this country is a
luxury and children are certainly not
given prizes because of their good
performance at school. That is their
duty toward God and their parents.
A European child gave me 5Euros for
the children in Congo and some sheets
with Bible verses and pictures to color.
I handed everything to the coordinator
of education and told him that was
a special donation from a child and
that I wanted to make children aware
that with their pocket money they
can support the education of a child
in Africa or even pay the salary of
a teacher but they should also know
it is a starvation salary and that they
themselves would never want to attend
a school like this one (although it might
do them a lot of good.) Regarding the
pictures to be colored, sadly enough
these children see the world in black

and white. Lodged under lofty trees in
the midst of the most beautiful nature,
standing on an earth that hides treasures
of diamonds and copper, the Congolese
children live a painful life, deprived of
any hope other than to have something
to eat each day, and that only by God’s
infi nite grace. Poverty in this country
is almost an insult to the beauty of its
lush nature.

CONCLUSION

There are three continents in similar
situation and only a few countries that
can provide some help. Even though it is
not possible to uproot misery, much can
be done if we all do what that faceless
and nameless lad who had fi ve barley
loaves and two fi shes did after having
heard the Son of God speaking words of
mercy, love and heavenly righteousness.
(John 6:9) He had certainly taken that
food to share with his family, but he did
not hesitate to give it to Jesus’ disciples
and he was witness to one of the greatest
miracles ever worked. We have all heard
the voice of the Son of God and He tells
us that there is no fear in love.
Let us not look at how much we have,
even if it is little. Let us not think, as we
sometimes do, that what we do is just a
drop in the ocean. Let us trust in Jesus’
power to multiply it. Let us be motivated
to extend a helping hand as we remember
the story told by our brethren who help
the churches in Congo: “Once a child
was walking along the shore and he saw
many sea-stars lying on the sand and

exposed to the bright sunlight. Seeing
that if they remained there they would
perish, the child started to take them
one by one and to throw them into the
water in order to save their life. A person
who saw him doing that told him that
the whole beach was full of sea-stars
and it was impossible to save them
all; what he was doing did not make
much of a difference. The child humbly
continued his work and while he was
throwing another sea-star into the sea,
he answered: “For this one it makes a
difference.” So will be your contribution
to the many souls you can help.
Even though, while on this earth we
may never see the fruits of our work
of charity, heaven will reveal it at due
time. May the Lord pour His Spirit of
mercy upon us so that we as the good
Samaritan, may never forget what
we saw and experienced. Amen.

–T. Corti