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Education Congo board member Mary Sanichas with study group of computer science students at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) Education Congo offers scholarships in specific areas of study through “named funds” that pay out every year, starting the year after they reach maturity at US$25,000.   One of our newest funds, “Sanichas Fund for Women in Computer Science,” was started with a balance of $5,000. When it reaches maturity it will provide tuition scholarships to Congolese women in computer science at UPC year after year.   This fund is in memory of Evadne Sanichas, the daughter of a US Air Force pilot who was stationed in Congo 1965–1967. She attended the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK), then a few years later was in the elite group of women first admitted to Yale University, where she majored in Philosophy. She later attended law school in California, then was awarded a fellowship at Georgetown International Law Center.  Evadne spent 30 years as a US government trial attorney defending against large-scale lawsuits by government contractors.  She was a pioneer in using computer technology to track large volumes of information for complex litigation.  Support the education solution to build a stronger Congo! When qualifying students receive named-fund scholarships,  it is for the duration of their studies. This makes a huge difference when you consider that a student could otherwise be obliged to drop out just short of becoming a doctor or lawyer or computer science professional! To donate online on our secure payment portal, click the button below We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “Sanichas Computer Science” on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar CO 81052 USA. If you would like to start a new named fund with the designation of your choice, email info@educationcongo.org 7/17/2025 UPDATE : the current balance of this fund is almost $20,000—very close to maturity. Please help to keep this fund growing! A 2nd scholarship fund in honor or Evadne, the Sanichas Law Fund, has reached maturity and will soon start funding tuition for women law students at UPC. 56% of the 9,658 students at Université Protestante au Congo were women in 2024   Listen to video clips from our 2024 interview with the head of UPC, Prof. Robert N'Kwim, talking about the impressive women students and women alumni from UPC

My Dad grew up in Louisville, KY, and went to college (Transylvania, where I also went) and seminary in Lexington. His magnetic personality is perhaps best illustrated by his arrival in Gulfport to interview for the pastorate there. Mother was in the reception group at the train station. When she got home she told her sister that if he came, she would marry him. And he did, and she did.  He was good-natured, loving, thoughtful, loved a good joke and took his calling seriously. The Congolese responded very well to his personality. They soon learned that he loved and respected them, and they loved him back. Whenever he went into the backcountry he took his shotgun and filled the stewpots of his meat-starved hosts. He saw his job as training the people who would become the leaders of a self-governing church, and the early leaders were mostly former students of his.  Walter Cardwell during his return visit to Congo When he went back for a brief visit in 1990, former students and associates came from miles around to greet him and relive old times. When my parents moved back to the US permanently, he spent the rest of his career traveling around the country for the mission board spreading the word about the growing church in Congo and its need for assistance. To donate online at our secure payment portal, click the button below: We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “Walter Cardwell Fund” on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar CO 81052 USA. If you would like to start a new named fund with the designation of your choice, email info@educationcongo.org If you are taking distributions from your IRA,  you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.)

My academic journey started in 2009, when I had just graduated from state school in Kananga. I was 18 years old and wanted to apply for enrollment at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in medical school. I had so dreamed of attending UPC because I knew about the excellent training given there. But since studies were expensive there, my parents had resolved to enroll me in the University of Our Lady of Kasai. As it turned out, there were no more places for new candidates in medicine there when I applied. We were discouraged.    One day, my parents were invited to a wedding party. Mom could not attend so I accompanied Dad to represent her. We met IMCK Tshikaji Administrator Kabibu, and he told us about someone who worked with a nonprofit (Education Congo) supporting the studies of young women. We subsequently got to know Mr. Shafe and applied for Education Congo scholarship assistance through UPC. Education Congo agreed to support me from the preparatory through my final year of medical school [through the Shafe Family Fund]!  My dream was to become a gynecologist and public health expert, and I did not want to give up my dream. However, in my third year I experienced difficulties—needing just one more point in Physiology to be promoted. If I'd had to drop out, I would have been unemployed after spending three years in medical school.  Mireille Ntumba,  2022 medical school graduate of UPC In 2015, I enrolled in Medicine at the Vaal University of Technology in South Africa. But as medical studies are very expensive, my parents wanted me to study nursing for four years instead. Determined to become a doctor, I could not be convinced to pursue any other career. My parents and I decided that I would return to the Congo. I wanted to continue with medicine at UPC, but I thought that Education Congo had forgotten me and that my scholarship had been given to someone else. To my surprise, my name appeared on the scholarship list, and I realized that I had not been forgotten! When I returned to UPC to reintegrate into the 3rd degree in medicine, my South African colleagues laughed at me and said that I had made the wrong decision.  I have now completed my studies as a general practitioner. I want to express my feelings of gratitude to the Shafe family and Education Congo for supporting me so much during my long academic journey!!!   3 years later—June 2025 update Mireille performing surgery at the small hospital in Moma village. Education Congo Executive Director Phil Kliewer [born and raised in Congo] "This is great to see: It shows how a student supported by Education Congo donors is contributing much needed medical skills in a remote village. Education is the long game in nonprofit work . Charities showing the need for immediate triage appeal to the heart of donors for immediate short-term relief, but when Education Congo appeals to donors for scholarships, that requires a bit more trust on the part of the donor. This photo rewards that trust—and Dr. Mireille is just one of many." Mireille is working in Kasaï-Central province Mireille practices general medicine and surgery at Moma Hospital, owned by the Presbyterian Church of Congo. Originally built as a dispensary in the 1930s, it was rebuilt and modernized in 2012. It provides services in pediatric, internal medicine, surgery, OB/GYN and general medicine, commonly treating malaria, malnutrition and communicable diseases. The village of Moma is located in the Kasaï-Central province in southern Congo. 56% of the 9,658 students at Université Protestante au Congo were women in 2024   If you would like to support scholarships for women at UPC, consider donating to one of Education Congo's named funds  designated for women: Sue Cardwell Fund —designated for women students from Bolenge Province or Equateur Province who are preparing for careers in teaching Jain-Goel Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC Sanichas IT Fund —designated for women computer science students at UPC Sanichas Law Fund —designated for women law school students at UPC Jack & Linda Spencer Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC To donate to a named fund, click the donate button above,  choose "Named funds" to go to our secure donation site, then scroll to choose your preferred named fund. To donate by check,  write the name of the fund on the memo line of the check and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar, CO  81052 USA. If you are taking distributions from your IRA,  you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.)

Named funds are a lasting way to support higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Funds can be established with a relatively low starting amount, then added to online by anyone and at any time. It's an easy way for groups or families to support one fund in honor of someone or something significant to them. Once the fund reaches $25,000, its earnings begin to pay out the following year—and continue to pay out year after year thereafter. Education Congo takes a disciplined approach to named fund payouts that protects the value of our assets while also providing reliable financial support to its partner universities in the DR Congo, regardless of market fluctuations. Number of Education Congo named funds Named fund assets through June 2025 Annual payouts through June 2025. Blue dots: actual payouts . Red line: average trend. According to the National Philanthropic Trust, "In 2024, the largest source of charitable giving came from individuals… with double-digit growth in gifts for public-society benefit organizations (19.5%), international affairs (17.7%) and education (13.2%)." And in 2025, with the radical reduction in US government support for education and international development, individual contributions are now more important than ever. Education Congo's 2025 named-funds payout Education Congo offers a strong track record for strengthening higher education within the Democratic Republic of Congo—a country with tremendous wealth in natural resources that are of tremendous global significance. If you would like to support higher education to build capacity in this critical country, consider adding to one of Education Congo's existing named funds—or even establishing your own. Scroll down to read about some of our named funds. To donate to any of our 50+ existing funds click here  or email us  if you are interested is starting your own fund. Online donations are processed through our secure portal at DonorPerfect. Thank you.

As the son of missionaries, Doug grew up on the Congo River at a magical point where it crosses the equator. Mary: Can you find photos of Bolenge where you grew up, the Congo River, your family or other people in Bolenge? Yourself as a boy! Congo in those days… Doug: I'm not sure I have access to much in the way of photos, other than some passport photos. Mary's passport photo before moving to the Congo Mary: Yes I'd love passport photos, they are so poignant in a way. Here is mine at 12. The first time I met you, you told me about returning to Bolenge where you grew up and the feeling you had when you saw the Congo River again. Can you describe this? The Congo River has the largest system of navigable waterways in Africa. It is two miles wide in Bolenge. Part of the movie 'The African Queen' was filmed on one of its tributaries to the east of Bolenge. Doug: I went back to Bolenge with my parents 33 years after leaving. It was a real homecoming, seeing our old house and my old haunts. I was delighted that some of my Lonkundo came back. One afternoon, as the sun was setting, I looked from the soccer field, where I had played almost every day, over the two-mile expanse of the Congo River and saw exactly what I had seen every day growing up—beautiful colors reflecting on the river. Suddenly shivers went down my back—a sensation I've never had before or since—and my mind filled with the thought that I was home. Mary: Doug this is amazing, I LOVE your experience of returning home! 1961 map of the Belgian Congo showing airports with green circles and emergency landing fields as small green squares. In 1966 Mobutu replaced European names of cities with African ones, so Coquihatville (named after a prominent Belgian military officer and cartographer) became Mbandaka. It is the capital of Équateur Province. I found a big 1961 Congo map with the pre-Mobutu names of cities. Here is a detail of where I think Bolenge is but I don't see it. Where is it? Doug: Bolenge is ten kilometers south of Mbandaka (Cocquilhatville on the older map). The scale is such that most villages are left off. Just follow the equator to the east bank of the river, and that's Bolenge. 2025 Google satellite view shows how Bolenge is dwarfed by the massive Congo River. Mbandaka is in upper right corner. Mary: Can you tell me more about growing up on the Congo River. Encounters with wild animals, snakes, malaria? Did you canoe around in the Congo River? Crocodiles? Doug: Growing up in Congo was wonderful. While I was home-schooled I spent mornings doing my schoolwork and then after lunch I went off to meet my Congolese buddies to hang out with them until suppertime (sunset was the signal to get home.) My parents never worried about me because they knew that all the Congolese on the station would look out for me. I loved the freedom. We went fishing, canoed along the bank of the river, played soccer and other games, walked to Mbandaka (six miles each way), walked into the jungle and generally hung out. 2025 satellite closeup shows the soccer field on the equator that Doug played on while growing up We saw lots of birds and the occasional monkey, but the only wildlife we really watched out for was snakes. We learned to watch where we were stepping and in the branches of any bushes we were brushing against, because those were the prime places to find snakes. Any bite would be deadly (you would not live to make it to the hospital, even if they had the right anti-venom). We only occasionally had close calls: the closest was one night as we were getting the youngest siblings ready for bed, we tried to call the dog out from under the bed and she wouldn't come. We looked and saw what we thought was feces until it moved. It turned out to be a mamba and, thanks to the dog, tragedy was averted. The other snake adventures involved pythons that were after our rabbits or chickens. I still have the 23-foot-long skin of one of them. It had eaten three of our chickens, but then we ate him. Hippos are extremely aggressive and territorial, especially in or near water… While canoeing in a much smaller river we saw the occasional crocodile or hippo. Only the hippos will actually attack a canoe, and I had quite a fright one day when one burst to the surface about 15 feet away and opened wide those huge jaws. We moved away and were lucky he didn't chase us. Mosquitos were ubiquitous and voracious, so nobody escaped bites. I was lucky—I was the only one in my family to never come down with malaria. Mary: How did you feel about suddenly being sent to school with Belgians at 9? Were there any other English-speaking kids in the school? Were the Belgians severe academically and punitive? Doug, I'm asking because I WAILED when my father left me with the nuns in French school for 1st grade. Also I remember feeling so grateful I didn't have to board there like many of the kids. Seemed like the worst nightmare possible to be held prisoner full time in such austere and terrifying conditions. The American School of Kinshasa was originally founded for English-speaking missionary kids in 1961, but it was attended by children of diplomats and expats of all nationalities. Recently (over 50 years later!) I discovered that there was a Belgian school in Kinshasa as well. I almost had a heart attack thinking that our parents could have sent my sister and me there instead of to TASOK—where we were so happy. Even 50 years later, it felt like I'd dodged a bullet! Doug is the oldest boy in this series of passport photos that starts with two and culminates with five children! Doug: As I think I have mentioned before, my life was so full of changes that I learned to accept them. I was three when we left Dad's pastorate in Tupelo, Mississippi and went to Hartford, then Montreal, then New York, then our trek to Congo. Three years in Congo with my Mother supervising me under the Calvert system, back to MS for fourth grade, back to Congo for two(?) more years of Calvert, then Belgian school for sixth grade, then to another station upriver to live with a family in which there was a boy my age and a mother who taught us and another family's kids, again with Calvert, then back home for more Calvert, then back to Mississippi for ninth grade, then to Belgium for six weeks in a local school where I was the lone American, then back to Congo and Central School, which boarded missionary kids from fifth grade through high school, then back to college in the US, which actually lasted four years—a first. Whew! Belgian school was my introduction to French and to Catholicism. No one spoke English, so I had to pick it up—it took several weeks for me to get comfortable with it, but I had the satisfaction of being the best in the class in dictée before the end. The priest who taught us took an interest me and was very helpful. He allowed me to sit through catechism class, which taught me a lot. He was demanding academically but fairly lenient in discipline. The nun who taught my younger sister was the one who whacked kids with a ruler. I made several friends from my class and we got along very well, playing soccer and other games and hanging out. I don't remember being very homesick when I was sent upriver to live with another family. Again I was learning to accept life as it came. Then again, I wasn't in first grade like you were; I'm sure that made a difference. Mary: Clarification please: you said you were plunged into Belgian school and it only took you several weeks to "get comfortable" with it. How could you possibly be comfortable without knowing how to speak French? Do you remember responding to gestures at first? I remember my first experience with French: kids were repeating "Lance la balle… Lance la balle!" (throw the ball) so these were probably my first words. Aside from "au secours!" which our parents taught us to yell if someone was trying to kidnap us. That and "où sont les toilettes ?" if we needed to go to the bathroom. Dictée from a French school textbook on Vocabulary This dictée was from Mary's cahier for French class at TASOK in 1966. She had to write her errors three times each at the bottom of the page. The Belgian teacher was strict but did not humiliate anyone in front of the class. To expand: for people who haven't experienced it, a "Dictée" is dictation. Out of the blue, the "Maître" or "Maîtresse" (master or mistress) would suddenly announce the piercing word "Dictée" in a way designed to strike terror into your heart. Kids would scramble into position with "plume" in hand, ready to dip into the ink well as needed. Ink blotter in position as well, because ink stains were not tolerated. You never knew when the Dictée was coming. It was a test of your ability to write down correctly what was being said. Aside from a test of writing and grammar skills, it was a test of performance under pressure, knowing every error would be circled in red and that you would be scored—and humiliated in front of the class if you had the lowest score. So when Doug says he was best in the class at Dictée by the end of the year, that is a real accomplishment. Doug, I'm glad you landed on a compassionate priest. In France, the revolt against an archaic, authoritarian education system started in May 1968, with reforms ensuing. In 2002 a French study concluded that shaming and insults actually hindered academic progress. However in my case FEAR of the aforementioned actually did wonders for my academic progress, and I am very grateful for that. Doug: Mary, I don't recall being able to study the Dictées ahead of time. I notice the ones in your textbook didn't use the passé composé, so agreements weren't being emphasized. I guess that was difference in grade levels. I do remember that some of them were from the fables, which gave us lots of practice in the passé défini. I also had Dutch, to honor the Flemish part of the Belgian population. Mary: That's pretty funny they had you studying Dutch in the Congo, but I guess it would have been useful to the Belgians returning home. What was Central School? Were there other missionary kids there? Was it fun? Was it a hostel situation as with TASOK (The American School of Kinshasa)? Doug: Central School was on a Presbyterian mission station and had dorms for the boys and girls and a central dining room for the 50 of us missionary kids. Last I heard the building is still there if you ever go to Lubondai. There were five in my graduating class. We were all good friends and have gotten together a number of times over the years, including a 50th reunion in France. Belgian Congo stamps, when Kinshasa was called Leopoldville (after King Leopold II of Belgium) Mary: You left in 1957 when it was still the Belgian Congo. It's amazing to think you were a teenager in equatorial Africa when kids in the States were watching "Leave It to Beaver" and listening to Elvis Presley. How much of that reached you by the time you were in high school at Central and I assume had electricity? Doug: The only radios were shortwave and belonged to the teachers, so we heard very little in the way of popular music. The only title that sticks in my head is "Hound Dog." At Lubondai there was electricity from a nearby dam until 11 pm, though our lights-out was 9:30. The generator only produced enough for lights, so the refrigerators worked on kerosene. The laundry was done by hand. Mary: We were in the Congo, though granted in Kinshasa, during another cultural revolution—the mid-sixties. When my father was on a work trip back to the States, he went to a record store and asked what the kids were listening to. Then he brought us back the Rolling Stones (Satisfaction), the Royal Guardsmen (Snoopy and the Red Baron) and the Mamas and the Papas (Monday, Monday), plus Edith Piaf (Je ne regrette rien!) for my sister. More to his taste, he also brought back the sound tracks for Don Quixote, the Pink Panther and Born Free. How did you become involved with Education Congo? 2022: Doug Cardwell at Education Congo board meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Doug: I knew Ben Hobgood in Congo and stayed in touch with him after returning to the States. I think it was in 2005 that he approached me about joining Education Congo, and I accepted. He was recruiting me to succeed him as executive director, and I soon began helping him with the bookkeeping. When he died suddenly, I had to learn all that he had not yet taught me, or invent it. Mary: How long have you lived in North Carolina? Doug: I have lived in Winston-Salem since 1972—the first time I have spent more than four straight years anywhere. Mary: How did your past educational experiences shape you as a French professor? Doug: In a sense, I learned something from every teacher I had. Since I had several European teachers as well as American, I saw a good variety of techniques and philosophies, and I knew what I did and didn't like. Those examples helped me determine, according to the material, when to lecture (only when necessary), when to ask questions (as much as possible), when to go to the board (only when necessary), when to have the class repeat in unison and when individually. As a child, I used to sit in the back of the class and try to be the last to answer any questions, which taught to watch out for students like me and call on them. Mary: But, Doug, now my main question is: How did your family decide to start two named funds, and how often do you contribute to it? I'm asking in case others may want to follow the same strategy. Doug: When Ben started soliciting for them, I really liked the idea of commemorating and continuing the work my parents had done, so I asked my siblings to join me in that project. We had many discussions about designations and how best to honor both parents, which we felt necessary because both were full-time missionaries. We decided that the only way to do them both justice was to establish one for each, for students in different fields. We built them up as quickly as we could to the $25,000 minimum and then continue to give every year to make them ever bigger and thus help more students at a time. Mary: Thank you Doug. This has been a joy and is a beautiful contribution to the Education Congo website. Also thank you for writing about your parents (Sue Cardwell and Walter Cardwell). If you would like to donate to one of Education Congo's scholarship funds in honor of Doug's parents, click go to our secure donation portal: We are also happy to accept donations by check. Please write the name of the fund on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar CO 81052 USA. If you are interested in starting a new named fund with the designation of your choice, email info@educationcongo.org If you are taking distributions from your IRA, you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.)

Sue Cardwell is in the center, holding Doug's younger sister. They are with Belgian friends in the then Belgian Congo in 1948. My mother Sue Cardwell served in Congo with my father Walter from 1945 to 1957. They accepted the call to missionary service in 1942, leaving his church in Mississippi to begin extensive training for the life and the work that awaited them in the middle of the rainforest in central Africa. Finally ready, they took the first available passage across the Atlantic after VJ Day, taking my sister (age 2) and me (age 5) on a 10-week journey that landed us in Bolenge, the station that would be our home for 10 of the next 12 years—and where I had the good fortune to grow up. Bolenge is located on the east bank of the Congo River right on the equator. If you Google Earth Bolenge, you can see the soccer field Doug played on every day as a child. Having studied French as part of their preparation, my parents spent most of every day with a local Congolese who would be their tutor until they mastered Lonkundo, the local language in which they would both have to work every day. As their fluency increased, they took on more and more tasks and were soon involved full time—my father as an evangelist and my mother as a teacher in the station's high school. Instruction was in French as she taught grammar and composition and math, and whatever else was needed. She soon became known in the community as a demanding and very effective teacher. It was no surprise, but very touching, that when she returned for a brief visit over 30 years after she had had to give up the work she loved, students who heard on the grapevine of her presence walked many miles to greet her and recount how hard she had made them work and how, when the time came for them to take state examinations for employment, they found easy what their fellow candidates struggled with. Nothing they could have said could have pleased her more, for teaching was a much-loved vocation. She had loved school (graduating college at 19) and was very conscious of how it opened doors normally closed to women in her time. Such was the legacy she left, and it was in honor of that legacy and in memory of her dedication to the power of education to transform lives that our family set up her Named Fund to provide scholarships for women, who, preferably, were preparing to become teachers. Her recent death at 104 has left us all the more determined to build on her legacy and continue educating Congolese youth in her name. Follow-up questions by Mary Sanichas, answered by Doug Caldwell Where did your mother grow up? What circumstances? She grew up mostly in Gulfport, Mississippi, where her father settled after growing up in Kentucky. She spent part of her childhood back at his family home. As a baby she survived the Spanish flu that killed millions. She had a fraternal twin sister, two younger brothers and a baby sister, all of whom went to college and one of whom became a famous thoracic surgeon. The others were all teachers, as was her father until he went into business for himself. She was a self-described tomboy who preferred to climb trees and ride horses rather than cooking and sewing and other "ladylike" activities; she was frequently scolded by her grandmother for it. That is probably why she broke so many barriers over her lifetime. At the same time she excelled in school and skipped some years. Since their father believed that everyone should go to college, and there was none in town, he took them to Mississippi Women's College and settled them in the dorm and chose their classes. Her main subjects were math and modern languages—fortunately including French. At graduation she returned home to work in her father's office. When my father came to town to apply as pastor of her church, she went with her father to meet him at the train. It was love at first sight, and she told her sister that if he got the job, they would marry. They did! Where did your parents study French? Since I was four at the time, I don't remember everything, but I know they spent several months in Montreal and at the Kennedy School for Missions in Hartford, Connecticut. I'm thinking of my own mother, born on a South Carolina farm. Determined to get away, she worked her way through nursing school in Spartanburg, then signed up for WW2 and was on the front in tent hospitals through North Africa and Italy. What a different adventure your mother pursued! Was she independent? Rebellious? Yes, and Yes, though she was very rational and thus careful with boundaries. She was a genuine southern magnolia blossom, with iron petals. What was her impression of the Congo? Her calling was very strong—think about taking two preschoolers to a place with very primitive medical conditions and where almost everyone was of a different culture, a different language, with different customs. She found it exotic, fascinating and very much in need of lifting up educationally and economically. She loved her job. She loved the people she worked with. Isn't Lonkundo a more complicated language? Probably no language is more difficult than English, but for English speakers it is a very complicated language, with an extensive use of prefixes and infixes for person, number and tense, including some tenses English doesn't have. Did you grow up speaking mainly Lonkundo? Mother made sure some local kids came around to play with me. Since they spoke only Lonkundo, I quickly learned to speak like a native speaker. I guess technically, I am a native speaker. When I finished 6th grade at home (the Calvert system), I was 9 years old, so I was sent to Mbandaka (daily bus) to school with the Belgian kids. There I learned French by immersion. And of course that had its effect on my eventual choice of career as a French professor. Can you tell me more about the Calvert system? If that was homeschooling, what did that look like? The kit contained texts and workbooks along with a detailed syllabus with daily assignments. We started on the trip and then worked intensively when we arrived, but soon we went to a quick survey each day of work to be done before she left to teach her classes and a few minutes of reviewing my work when she got home. Was it a small village? Bolenge was a small village 6 miles from Mbandaka, and the largest mission station for the Disciples of Christ [a Protestant religion known for its commitment to social justice]. The other stations had elementary schools, and those picked out as particularly promising were sent to the secondary schools at Bolenge. Mother taught at the one for general studies, and another trained teachers. In his second term my father started a school for preachers. He had discovered in his trips to the back country to supervise Congolese pastors that they were sometimes illiterate, often didn't own a Bible and thus quoted Scripture from memory. Were there challenges with illnesses? How did your mother manage with childbirth? The hospital for Europeans was run by the Catholic mission. Since the pain of giving birth was considered a punishment from God for Eve's sin, pain relief could only be after the birth. She had two children in those conditions. The second left her with serious complications and also infected her with the illness that would force her to return permanently to the States. Was there a generator for electricity? What kind of house did you live in? How rudimentary? In our first term, there was no electricity, so we used kerosene lamps. In our second term there was a station generator that ran 6–10 pm. Most of the time. At what age were you sent away for schooling? I first went away to school, at the most distant station, when I was 11. That was only for a year. At 14 I went to Central School for the last two and a half years of high school. Why did they leave in 1957? How old were you? Mother went home on emergency leave during the spring term of my senior year. Dad stayed to finish his teaching year while I finished high school. We then packed up and returned to the States for good. I was 17. How did you adapt to life in the States? Had you ever been there? How did your mother adapt? I had spent only two furloughs in the States since I was five, so I knew little about life there. I'm not sure I ever learned. Since I had always been pretty independent, it didn't bother me. I was serious about my studies and got very involved in athletics, and that was enough. My mother had a much harder time, since she was bedridden for years with the illness that sent her away from her chosen life. When she got better she went back to school, got her masters (usually the only woman in her classes) and eventually (at the age of 60) got her PhD and became the first woman faculty member at the Disciples of Christ seminary in Indianapolis. I'd like to hear more about her personality. Was your mother unusual as a parent? Unusual was her will and determination show up in her return to studies while she was still recovering from her illness. She was rational, foresightful and thoughtful of those around her. She always wanted to do right by her children. Two examples are getting the cook to make me a birthday cake when we got to an inn one afternoon and were leaving the next morning, and bringing simple supplies from the States for my sister and me to make decorations for a Christmas tree on the trip. You followed in your mother's footsteps as a French professor? Mother taught French along with other subjects in Congo, but that was not her main one. Teaching in American colleges is different, so I never taught anything else. But certainly I was influenced by the fact that both my parents taught. One more question: How do you see your mother's influence in yourself? You said she was "rational" twice. Also foresightful and thoughtful. Mindful of boundaries while at the same time rebellious and independent. Doug, I would describe you as very full of heart but extremely measured, rational and above all thorough and dependable. Am I describing your mother as well?! Yes, I think those adjectives apply. She could be tough-minded and iron-willed, but always expressed with a coating of honey in the old-time Southern manner. Yes, I learned a lot from her, but I'm not sure about the honey. Support the education solution in Congo! Make a contribution to Education Congo's Sue Cardwell Scholarship Fund—designated for UPC women students from Bolenge Province who are preparing for careers in teaching. To donate online at our secure payment portal, click the button below: We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “Sue Cardwell Fund” on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar CO 81052 USA. If you would like to start a new named fund with the designation of your choice, email info@educationcongo.org If you are taking distributions from your IRA, you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.) 56% of the 9,658 students at Université Protestante au Congo were women in 2024 If you would like to support other scholarships for women at UPC, consider donating to one of Education Congo's named funds designated for women: Jain-Goel Fund—designated for women medical school students at UPC Sanichas IT Fund—designated for women computer science students at UPC Sanichas Law Fund—designated for women law school students at UPC Jack & Linda Spencer Fund—designated for women medical school students at UPC

"The scholarship from Education Congo really helped me because my parents had financial difficulties… and I'd had to stop my studies. To be helped by people I didn't even know taught me a lot of things—and when I can, I too will try to help people like you have. I thank you not only for myself but for the other scholarship recipients." Education Congo scholarship recipient Rose Bolia Mbita expressed heartfelt thanks to some of our board members during their visit to Congo in June 2024. Rose is in her 2nd year at UPC's economic sciences department. Upon graduating she plans to work first in Kinshasa, but eventually plans to return home to Equateur Province to help people start small businesses there, where this help is badly needed. Her other goal is to create a foundation to support the education of young girls in Equateur. 56% of the 9,658 students at Université Protestante au Congo were women in 2024   If you would like to support scholarships for women at UPC, consider donating to one of Education Congo's named funds  designated for women: Sue Cardwell Fund —designated for women students from Bolenge Province or Equateur Province who are preparing for careers in teaching Jain-Goel Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC Sanichas IT Fund —designated for women computer science students at UPC Sanichas Law Fund —designated for women law school students at UPC Jack & Linda Spencer Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC To donate to a named fund, click the donate button above,  choose "Named funds" to go to our secure donation site, then scroll to choose your preferred named fund. To donate by check,  write the name of the fund on the memo line of the check and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar, CO  81052 USA. If you are taking distributions from your IRA,  you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.)

Six months ahead of my trip to Congo, I tried speaking French and discovered my mouth was no longer physically capable of performing the gymnastics. I had plenty of time so I decided to “train” by reading a children’s book out loud in bed every night before falling asleep. Nothing challenging, just a few easy pages. Set myself up for success. Stop while I’m ahead so that each session ends on a positive note—that’s how we train horses… I randomly picked a French book from childhood years in France—one with a horse on the cover because I am still horse crazy. 1961 French children's book I started reading the story out loud at bedtime. My mouth remained persistently rusty, but I soldiered on. Then I started running into difficult vocabulary words… Reading out loud was not only difficult for my mouth but was proving challenging for my brain as well. As the story progressed, I began to visualize the author lurking behind the pages like the teachers my sister and I had experienced as children in France. If I wanted to enjoy the story, I would have to learn annoying vocabulary words at the same time. One day the city boy is riding the horse in the woods and gets lost in a storm. The horse spooks. He hangs on for dear life at the gallop, falls off, gets back on, then finally arrives back to the chateau hidden in the woods. He is totally wet and scraped up.  He and the ancient groom are taking the saddle off the horse, when suddenly the groom cries out “Il cherche à se sécher!” ("he is searching to dry himself"—meaning “look out, he’s about to roll”—which is what wet horses do to dry off.) But “Il cherche à se sécher!” is nearly impossible to say! It was deliberately designed to twist the tongues of even the most proficient French speakers who are reading out loud to their children. The author had thrown down the gauntlet. No one can say this! I tried once, twice. The third time I tried I had to get out of bed because I was laughing so hard. I went to get a drink of water and kept trying to say it in the kitchen. In fact I am still trying to say it a year later.  I have been closely involved with horses for the past 30 years. When the horse is about to roll before you can get the saddle off, you don’t cry out, “He is searching to dry himself” even if you are French. This was planted deliberately there, maybe even as a plot against Americans who might be trying to read this book out loud.  “Il cherche à se sécher” turned out to foreshadow the tongue-twister moment I would encounter on my trip to the Congo.  Six months later I am interviewing and at the same time videotaping beautiful young Congolese scholarship recipients one at a time. The fitness of my French-speaking mouth has not particularly improved. The loud environment and the fluorescent lighting are the least of my worries. I had planned for my companions to do the interviewing while I videotaped, but two of them are back at the hostel sick in bed. Also we were never expecting 40 students to show up all at once.  Scholarship recipients pulled out from class and waiting for us to interview them We’re in a small room at the university. The students are waiting outside on the landing and all the way down the stairs. As I said, there is a tremendous amount of background noise. Margaret and Madame Jolie are busy listing the students in the order interviewed and lining them up for me. So I stand in my corner, I put each student against the wall one after the other, lifting my iPhone to within what seems like three inches from their noses. I know that’s what it takes to overcome background noise. People are talking. It sounds like the classroom next door is having some kind of celebration. But I still manage to get spectacular video. Mainly because these students have worked so hard to get to where they are, for the most part they are not at all self-conscious. They are focussed on their education and on what they are going to do for their country with their education. The women are focussed helping other women. They understand that being videotaped is an opportunity to tell others about their work and about the importance of scholarships. And to express their gratitude. To have gotten this far they are the crème de la crème and highly motivated. I am holding up my arm approximately two minutes for each student (2 mins. x 40 students = 80 mins. total for my arm and same amount of time intensely concentrating on 40 faces at very close range). Margaret and Madame Jolie have them lined up so efficiently I hardly have time to lower my arm before the next one is in position. I am locking them in with eye contact so they won't be intimidated by a phone in the face. Being so close to their faces and doing my best to listen hard and be present was incredibly intense. But equally inspiring to be so intimately in communication for 1-2 minutes at a time with so many students. Maybe this is what speed dating is like, except that I fell in love with almost all of them! It was so impressive, “I am in 3rd year of law school” or “I come from Ituri Province [God knows how remote that is] studying Management.” Future "neurochirurgien" Then a small young woman with a dazzling smile stepped into place. Charisma! Or as my Greek father used to tell me when explaining that half the English language comes from Greek, HHHA-rees-ma. It comes from the Greek HHHA-rees-ma. HHHA-rees-ma! At least I recognized it when I saw it. Even though here I was with a stiff arm and somewhat traumatized from having to speak French to about 23 students before her. I pulled down my stiff arm, switched to photo mode, put my arm back up and clicked 3 times. Three beautiful photos! I have discovered that when interviewing people and they give a short answer then grind to a halt, all you have to do is repeat the last word they said. This sparkling young woman said she was going to be a surgeon and, because she wanted to be something that is rare and desperately needed in Congo, she said wanted to become a neurosurgeon ("neurochirurgien" in French). Then she came to a halt. Astonished, I repeated, or rather tried to repeat “neurochirurrr…” As impossible to say as “Il cherche à se sécher”! But I didn’t have to say the whole thing. She beamed, gave an enthusiastic “oui” and repeated “neurochirurgien.” In French, when a Oui is enthusiastic it can have a whistling sound. Hers was a whistling Oui. She continued on without any further stalls. After we recovered from the day's events, Margaret and I scrutinized her list to figure which student our future neurosurgeon was. Then we carefully crafted an email in French asking Madame Jolie to schedule a follow-up interview with her. To be continued… [After this we faced even more daunting public-speaking-in-French challenges… but I eventually concluded that the joy and rewards of being able to communicate with such inspiring Congolese students and faculty members far outweighed any crimes I'd committed against the French language.] If you would like to support scholarships for women medical students at UPC, consider donating to one of Education Congo's named funds designated for women medical students: Jain-Goel Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC Jack & Linda Spencer Fund —designated for women medical school students at UPC To donate to a named fund, click the donate button above and choose "Named funds" to go to our secure donation site. Then use the scroll-down menu to select your preferred named fund. To donate by check,  write the name of the fund on the memo line of the check and mail to Education Congo, PO Box 29, Lamar, CO  81052 USA. If you are taking distributions from your IRA,  you might consider making a direct donation from your account to Education Congo. The distribution amount that is paid directly to Education Congo would not be taxable to you and could save you some income tax dollars. Please talk to your financial and/or tax advisors on how to best make this kind of donation. (If you go this route, be sure to notify us with details.)

The capital city Kinshasa is a marvel of self-organizing traffic, however "embouteillage" (bottleneck traffic jam) is the operative word. The good news is that every single vehicle on the road is crammed full to maximum possible capacity. There are many small yellow buses (public transportation is a good thing!), and most of the motorcycles are "moto-taxis" where up to 3 passengers squeeze onto the motorcycle behind the driver. If "lanes" were to exist and there were to be "carpool" lanes in Kinshasa, all vehicles would qualify! It's true that getting from one place to the next is a jolting, loud and polluted experience. Plus pedestrians and motorcycles are flowing in every possible direction and through every inch of space between cars, trucks and small buses. On the other hand, the reflexes and athleticism involved is amazing to witness, and, for the most part, this extraordinary dance is accomplished calmly—accompanied by constant signaling of beeps of all kinds, indicating "I am here behind you" or "cutting in front of you now" much like sonar, but at point-blank range. More intensity at intersections, where laying on of the horn does occur, as in this video. There's plenty to look at while in an embouteillage. Photo credit: Mary Sanichas

The only vaccine the Democratic Republic of Congo requires for entry is Yellow Fever within the last 10 years, but there are plenty of other choice diseases there! One of them requires 2 doses administered across a period of months. When I told my companions I was going to skip that one because I wasn't planning on sharing any needles there, I learned that you can get it from a blood transfusion and that it's a particularly nasty disease. I signed up for that one right away. The vaccines with Live virus have to be spaced apart so it requires some planning. Even a booster for polio is highly recommended. Other vaccines are only considered good for a few years. For polio and a few other "outdated" vaccines in doubt I had blood titers done. Turned out I have good immunity in all the titers, so I was spared subjecting myself to several of the shots. Some of the new shots I needed were not available locally but only at a "travel vaccine" place, where they try to sell you everything else imaginable but also give excellent information. And these shots are expensive! Then there are various options for malaria pills, also highly recommended. The other two travel-preparation tasks were getting our visas and airline tickets. Unless you live in Wash DC you can't just trot over to a local DRC Consulate. We had to trust FexEx with our passports, but the passport services place worked out fine. Last thing we are sweating is airline tickets. Flights are a real roll of the dice these days. Last few times I've flown I'd been trotting at full speed for one gate only the receive a text of change of gate and had to trot back the other way. What's less amusing is missing a connection due to a delayed flight. We are trying to converge onto one flight out of Paris to arrive in Kinshasa together. So far they have changed my flights three times without regard for the amount of connection times required. So far this has been the most complicated part of the planning. 1966: Our standard poodle from France with my mother in Congo. Our suburban house abutted a large section of jungle, now totally developed, along with every other inch of Kinshasa. I was 12 years old the last time I flew to the Congo. This was in comparative luxury on Pan Am with my family, my sister's parakeet and our large standard poodle. My mother the nurse had practiced drugging our dog to make sure she had the right dose for sedating him to travel in the belly of the plane. But apparently during the longest leg from New York to Africa the sedation took the opposite effect on him. He went wild, shredded his favorite blanket, bit his way out of his kennel and ran loose, terrorizing everyone who tried to catch him. For the remaining legs of our flight, my father arranged for him to fly in the cabin with us. Joë did not make a peep and stayed under the footrest area (larger in those days!) 1966: My sister Evadne with Joë at our house. A Black Mambo later attacked a Congolese construction worker by bouncing down the steep concrete stairs (at right) toward him. The worker ran backwards down the stairs while at the same time striking it dead with a shovel in a single, very skillful blow. For the return trip two years later, my father made sure Joë could travel with us in the cabin. Unfortunately my sister's parakeet, who was already quite elderly, had died in the Congo. The only thing I remember about the return flight was feeling my heart literally break upon take-off. Physically very painful, unlike anything I've ever felt before.

The service took place in three stages: Bringing the body from the morgue to the church, the service and the interment. I was told that the cathedral can hold up to 7,500 people. My guess is that there were over 3,000 for the service. The activities at the morgue started at 9 am. The internment ended around 4 pm with no breaks to speak of. It was a very long day but also rewarding. They didn't tell me when I was to be called on to speak so I was busy watching other activities before realizing that they were calling on me. Then the translator (from Lonkundo to French) didn't show up, so they had to find someone. In the end, all went well. More people than I can count told me how much they appreciated Education Congo sending someone. They took such great care of me. I would have no idea of what was next, only to find someone there to guide me. So, that is it for now… Short video clip of Ernie speaking at Daniel Ngoy's funeral When Ernie starts speaking in Lonkundo, the crowd responds with a roar of warm applause!

Imagine having to carry your sick child or spouse down a long winding path to the river on a hot humid day in the Congo. After hiring a canoe and pilot you then embark on a 3+ hour journey down a fast flowing river. There is a good likelihood you will need to navigate around areas with hippos or crocodiles on this trip. Eventually you reach the nearest town with a medical facility. The last leg of your voyage involves hiring a taxi to take you to the hospital where you join the long queue of people waiting to be seen by a doctor. You hope you have arrived in time… Photo credit: Bruno Baerg These were the kinds of experiences familiar to Moluamba Clavers as he grew up in a village distant enough from the city of Mbandaka in the DRC that the only way to access medical care was via dugout canoe. After experiencing this reality firsthand, Moluamba became determined to study medicine so that he could make medical care more readily and easily available to the people in smaller more remote villages like the one he grew up in. Moluamba got his start as a nursing student in Mbandaka. Subsequent to nursing school he decided that he wanted to become a doctor. He did not have the financial resources for university studies so he and his family moved to Kinshasa where he worked as a nurse, saving up money as he was able. Once at l’Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa he found that he didn’t have sufficient funds to complete his studies. He wrote a letter to the university administration asking if there were any scholarships available. UPC was able to grant him a scholarship through Education Congo. Moluamba is now nearing completion of his medical studies! Ernie Ross, president of Education Congo, recently met Moluamba while visiting l’Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa. Education Congo board members periodically travel to the DRC to engage face to face with our partners on the ground to assess programming and ensure that our mutual goals and vision for education are in alignment. Moluamba is very grateful to Education Congo for the help we’ve given him through our scholarship program. It has made it possible for him to succeed in his studies and thus move towards his goal of providing medical care to more remote communities. Thank you for your support in making Moluamba’s journey as a health practitioner possible!