Until the end of 2024, Numbi III Institute in DR Congo couldn’t qualify as an official school. The school was using a rented, half-constructed house that could accommodate just 22 students.

Numbi III is in a highly populated area with few schools to meet the community’s needs. Demand for a good school was high. But due to its lack of facilities, Numbi III was unable to fill this gap.

But everything changed at the end of last year. In partnership with Anglican Aid and Openwell Oxford, the Anglican Diocese of Kindu in DR Congo constructed a brand-new school building for Numbi III. Since completion, 253 new students have enrolled!

Laying the foundations for the new building

This is just one of 7 schools that have been renovated or constructed from scratch in the last 3 years as part of the Kindu School Rehabilitation Project. The project aims to improve the quality of education in Anglican schools in Maniema province, DR Congo, by rebuilding and renovating school facilities, and providing high-quality teacher training. The project has a participatory approach, where the school communities contribute by making the bricks to build the schools. The local community see themselves as working together collaboratively with the Diocese, and this gives an increased sense of local ownership of the schools.

Another school that was completed at the end of last year is Kalinda Primary School – and enrolment there has also skyrocketed! The school had 259 students in September 2021 and has now grown to 602 students!

The Diocese also conducted two three-day teacher training sessions for teachers and school directors last year. More than 135 teachers and school officials participated in at least one of these. The training sessions covered various topics, including:

• Managing the relationship between schools and the government
• Resource management and mobilisation in schools
• Active and participatory teaching methods
• Peaceful management of conflicts in schools
• Fighting against violence in school, including sexual violence
• Different ways of learning
• Human development and educational skills for ages 0-21

Feedback from teachers was overwhelmingly positive, and they were eager to apply new techniques in the classroom.

Thank you to all the generous Anglican Aid supporters who have made this work possible!

Pray:

• Give thanks that many more students can now receive a quality, Christ-centered education at Numbi III Institute and Kalinda Primary School
• Pray for the necessary funds to construct Nyangwe Primary School this year, especially as inflation has seen prices for construction materials increase dramatically
• Pray for peace in DR Congo