Museum & School

Tshilu & I

        This morning Clement and I went to the Institute of History Museum of Congo. It is located on the grounds of where President Mobutu used to live. The museum is just a small building, but the guide was very informative and Jean-Claude had called in a friend of a friend to translate for me. The translator (Tshilu) is a black Belgium with a Congolese father, who after studying in the Netherlands, wanted to spend some time in Kinshasa. Not sure why you want to do that, but I assume it has to do with family ties, etc.

Graves of White Colonialists

        After lunch, we headed back to a school that is run by Clement’s uncle to teach adult literacy in French. The school is located in a dirt poor neighbourhood called Camp Luka. The church where the school is located has a dirt floor with a concrete slab where the preacher stands. One wall is lined with blackboards and at each class he gives them paper handouts to study from. These people speak Lingala, but do not read or even know the alphabet. That is where he starts in the attempt to teach them to read and speak French. Then we stopped at his house, where his wife is working on my clothing. Back at the apartment, I took a long nap and awoke to meet another of Clement’s friends. Her name is Natasha and she works for a cooperation run by the British Embassy. Natasha is really smart and speaks great English! She told me about her travels to Dubai which makes it seems like a fascinating place to visit. She stayed for a delicious dinner cooked by Clement of boeuf and fufu.

Adult School