DR Congo's rainforest and technology minerals connect it globally—a more stable Congo is beneficial to the entire world. Financial assistance to vital future professionals at UEA in Eastern Congo is investing in a better future globally. Learn more at educationcongo.org Congo matters to us all. Channel crossing the flooded tropical rainforest of the Black Forest in Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of the Congo. #educationcongo #EasternCongo #CongoIsBleeding #SaveTheCongoRainforest #AllEyesOnCongo Photo Credit: JosepMGracia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Higher education in developing nations creates lasting systemic change by reducing poverty and boosting stability. Invest in this long-term impact at educationcongo.org #educationcongo.org #philanthropy #developingcountries #globalneeds #educationforall Support Higher Education in Congo

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

In 2017 Education Congo began to develop a relationship with Université Évangélique en Afrique (UEA) in Bukavu on the eastern border of Congo. Upon the recommendation of a German researcher teaching students at UEA, members of Education Congo's board visited UEA and found her recommendation well worth our visit and consideration of support. Focus on front-wave issues relevant to Eastern Congo During that visit, board members observed a progressive style of university leadership emphasizing transparency and accountability for students and faculty alike, while focusing students on the front wave of issues relevant to Eastern Congo. We saw a multi-disciplinary group of students researching ethics in governance and confronting government officials with their findings, medical students in a lab testing their own DNA for sickle cell anemia as a way of learning to curb that disease, theology students focused on peace studies and healing in a country torn by brutality, social science students learning how to moderate conflict and bring healing, and an agriculture program that not only raises pigs and squash, but addresses pollution. We also visited the Panzi Hospital where medical interns from UEA learn not only how to perform gynecological repair for victims of military rapes, but the bedside manners and other support needed for long-term holistic healing. Dr. Denis Mukwege is on the faculty of UEA's medical school. UEA faculty member Dr. Denis Mukwege Since that visit, in 2018, the founder of the Panzi Hospital, Dr. Denis Mukwege was awarded the Nobel Prize for his activism toward the abolishment of sexual violence as a weapon of war, and holding accountable those responsible for that violence. Within the context of an emphasis on human rights at the university, Dr. Mukwege has been a pioneer in gynecological repair surgery for victims of sexual violence and has brought worldwide attention to the call for accountability. New memorial fund in honor of Dr. Mohamed Kanji provides scholarships at Université Évangélique en Afrique (UEA) This fund has been established by contributors in memory of their classmate and friend Dr. Mohamed Kanji. Dr. Kanji spent part of his childhood in Bukavu, home of UEA, before relocating to Kinshasa where he attended The American School of Kinshasa (see TASOK named fund) and met lifelong friends. After high school, he continued his education at Tabor College and various universities in the US, where fellow scholars and friends came to know him as a passionate advocate of human rights. Dr. Kanji, an affable conversationalist Dr. Kanji's studies led him into rheumatology, bringing relief to many suffering from pain over the span of his career, while he and his wife Sorayyah raised two children—who also have become passionate advocates of human rights. We trust that Dr. Kanji would approve our contributions to help students learning within a context such as UEA where human rights are championed. It is in that spirit that we offer this UEA-focused fund for your consideration. Help to grow the UEA Kanji fund to provide more scholarships at UEA year after year To help more young Congolese attend UEA, please contribute to the UEA Kanji fund. The larger the fund, the larger the payout—so please help to keep it growing! Update as of 5/23/2025 The UEA Kanji fund has surpassed maturity of $25,000 and now totals $27,251! Update as of 7/7/2025 The UEA Kanji fund has reached $52,440! Click the button below to help build the Kanji scholarship fund for UEA students: You can also donate by check, write "UEA Kanji 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, 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.) info@educationcongo.org

Education Congo board member Mary Sanichas with study group of computer science students at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) Education Congo offers tuition scholarships in specific areas of study through “named funds” that pay out every year, starting the year after they reach maturity at $25,000. The Sanichas IT Fund for Women in Computer Science” was started with a balance of $5,000. It has now reached maturity and will provide tuition scholarships to Congolese women in computer science at UPC year after year. This fund was started in memory of Evadne Sanichas, the daughter of a US Air Force pilot stationed in Congo 1965–1967. Evadne 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 in Wash DC. 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 IT 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 A 2nd scholarship fund in honor or Evadne, the Sanichas Law Fund, has also reached maturity and is 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

Many Education Congo board members, including Jimmy Shafe ’67 and Margaret Loewen ‘72, grew up in Congo and attended The American School of Kinshasa (TASOK). Because we saw the need, we all became involved in Education Congo, which raises funds for higher education as the long-term solution for building a stronger Congo. Our deep connections to Congo have also led to the development of the TASOK Scholarship Fund. Phil Kliewer, Executive Director of Education Congo, describes the genesis of the TASOK fund and how TASOK alumni continue to pool together to build it. Many Congolese students' families cannot come up with annual university tuition of only $800-$1,200. We need your help as we continue to grow the TASOK (The American School of Kinshasa) Alumni Scholarship Fund for Congolese students at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa and Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) in Bukavu. Many of you personally recall fellow TASOK students whose families formed the original faculty of the university. From the original School of Theology, UPC has now expanded to include Schools of Business/Economics, Law, Medicine and Computer Science. This university has grown from 3 (yes three) to 9,000 students during the past 60 years—in what has been the direst of circumstances at times. UPC graduates are making a difference UPC’s alumni have gone on to receive Fulbright Scholarships and work in a variety of sectors ranging from private equity firms to nonprofits. Seven UPC graduates are now serving in government, five of which are women—including the Minister of Foreign Affairs who met recently with the Duchess of Edinburgh during her 2025 visit to Congo. The former Rector of UPC, the late Dr. Daniel Ngoy, was a UPC alumnus. Another PhD graduate of UPC, Fatuma Ngongo Kilongo, is the first woman head of Université Evangélique en Afrique in Bukavu, the other university that Education Congo partners with and that the TASOK Named Fund supports. Support the education solution in Congo! You can make a positive, lasting impact on this country that ranks near the bottom of the U.N. Development Index (a measurement of a country’s achievement in health, knowledge and standard of living). Congo’s potential for stability and growth in the heart of Africa is tremendous. Education is the key. Make a contribution to TASOK's Scholarship Fund for UPC and UEA students. Proceeds from this fund pay for scholarships year after year. The larger the fund, the larger the payoff—so please help to keep building this fund! To donate online at our secure payment portal, click the button below: We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “TASOK 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.) Balance updates 10/15/2024 The balance is $52,018 with its earnings paying out every year for scholarships at Université Protestante au Congo. Bravo TASOK Alumni—let's keep building this fund! 5/23/2025 Current balance has grown to $56,008! The higher the fund—the greater the number of scholarships it can support. 7/7/2025 Now up to $59,637—keep those donations coming! 10/20/2025 Current balance at $62,037! 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! Alumni from The American School of Kinshasa, attended by a highly diverse (and unusual) body of students over the years, have really risen to the occasion in supporting this fund! However, anyone can contribute to any Education Congo fund, so please help to spread the word by sharing the link to this website or clicking the Facebook icon to share to your personal Facebook page. Thank you.

In response to strong demand, Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) established a computer science department in 2017—the Faculté des Sciences Informatiques (FASI). That first year over 300 students enrolled! More women joining the ranks Every year, more and more women are applying. As of 2024, over 30% of first-year students enrolled were women. Students hail from many different educational backgrounds—ranging from math and chemistry to teaching and literature. 2024 first-year FASI student More applicants than space available Last term, after culling from 700 applicants who took the entrance exam, FASI was only able to accept 396 new students due to lack of space. Unfortunately, lack of funds for tuition has subsequently forced 47 of first-year students to become “inactive.” If they can afford tuition next year or can get an Education Congo tuition scholarship, they will be able to re-enroll in the program. On average 10–15% of new students drop out due to financial pressures. Ratio of women to men in the graduating class of 2025 Though they started out in the minority at 37% of students in the class in 2021, by the end of 4 years, fewer women than men had dropped out. To support women in computer science at UPC, you can contribute to Education Congo's Sanichas Fund for Women in IT. Highly motivated students Very few fail scholastically. The attrition rate lowers significantly as students advance in the program and can see a bright future at the end of the tunnel. As Prof. David Kutangila, Dean of FASI expressed, “They see a clear vision of the careers they will have upon completing their studies.” Jobs aplenty await graduates Employment is available from Congolese employers in telecommunications (Airtel, Vodacom and Orange), commercial banking (Rawbank and Equity) and government. FASI partners with many employers to place students in internships. Special events and programs also facilitate matching students with employers. FASI leadership and faculty FASI is well staffed with two full-time professors and 28 more professors pulled from other departments at UPC as well as from other universities in Kinshasa. Four of these professors are women. The Dean of FASI, Prof. David Kutangila, received his PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada in Spain in 2005. Outstanding investment in the future of the Congo A Congolese benefactor has funded the construction of a new building for FASI. When it is completed, it will provide much-needed classroom space for 1st and 2nd year students. Click to donate to the fund designated for women in computer science at UPC: 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

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 named funds As of 9/2026, the number of named funds has risen to fifty. All fifty will be paying out in 2027. Named fund assets through June 2025 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 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.

We support Education Congo because we honestly believe every scholarship for every student moves the nation one step closer to stability and prosperity. Education Congo provides just over 100 scholarships each year—yet so much more can be done. Jan and I got involved with Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in 2003 because it seemed to us that education is the “50-year solution” to many of the difficulties facing the Congo. Chug and Sara Shafe in 1939, right before they went to Congo As UPC's medical school was being founded in 2006, we decided to create a named fund in memory of my parents, Rev. Chug (Charles) and Sara Shafe, through Education Congo. They served as missionaries in Congo from 1939 to 1942, when they had to return to the States due to my father’s health. The ocean voyage back to the States was an adventure that involved actually zig-zagging to avoid German submarines! We had a home fire in 1960 that claimed the lives of my dad and my sister Ceci. After the fire, and once my older brother went off to college, my mother and I returned to Congo—where she served as a teacher of missionary kids from 1964 to 1974. Very simply, Congo was my mother’s happy place. Ernie Ross, a classmate in Congo and a longtime friend, once commented to me, “Education is one thing that once you have it, no one can ever take it away from you.” That resonated. Jan and I decided our named fund should be devoted to medical students as a way of promoting a healthier Congo. Thanks to the Shafe family scholarship fund, Mireille Misenga was able to complete medical school and is currently practicing medicine in Congo. We are thrilled that three students our fund has assisted have graduated from the UPC medical school. Misenga tells her story in a separate post. The MDs we have helped to educate are helping to save lives in our beloved Congo. I can think of no better way to honor a loved one than through establishing a fund that ensures that future lives are enhanced through education. Jimmy & Jan Shafe, Decatur, Georgia Support the education solution in Congo! Make a contribution to Education Congo's Sara and Rev. Chug Shafe Fund—designated for medical students at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) and Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA). This fund has already reached maturity, so its earnings are paying for scholarships year after year. The fund currently stands at $79,435. That said, the larger the fund, the larger the payout—so please help to keep it growing! 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 at our secure payment portal, click the button below: We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “Shafe 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.)

Mary: Doug, here are more questions about soccer to add on to your blog story about growing up in Bolenge: Did you play soccer barefoot? If you ran around barefoot how did you manage to avoid for the larvae that would burrow under your skin and create a painful boil? How many miles did you say they run in a soccer match? Can soccer be played with minimum of gear? What did they do about nets? How is soccer different in Congo? Sometimes we had a real soccer ball, but we also played with tennis balls, woven wicker balls, or anything else that rolled. Doug as a child Doug: I started playing soccer soon after I arrived in Congo, at six. The local kids I played with were always barefoot and would have objected to my playing in shoes. I went barefoot all the time, so my feet toughened up, especially since the roads were gravel. Sometimes we had a real soccer ball, but we also played with tennis balls, woven wicker balls, or anything else that rolled. Real fields had regular goals and sometimes fishnets. There were two pests to be concerned with in the feet. The more serious were hookworms, which bored into the feet and then migrated to other parts of the body. Jiggers just bored under the skin and established a nest that could be as big as a pea and had to be dug out with a needle, preferably intact so the offspring didn't spread into the body. Fortunately, neither bored in quickly, so by careful foot-washing every evening both could be stopped. Toes are not made for end-of-toe kicks, so I quickly learned to imitate my playmates by kicking with the top of the foot. No one had shin guards, so we all took care not to hit shin on shin too often. We could play on most any surface, large or small, with a couple of sticks to mark each goal. Unlike the modern emphasis on teamwork and sharp passing, then it was on individuals dribbling around opponents—two skills that are particularly combined in the Brazilian and Spanish teams today. I am watching as much of the World Cup as I can, including the US, Congo, Brazil and Spain, and whatever else I have time for. As I got older, I played daily in pickup games with local school kids at the end of the day. There was not time for a full-length game, but the full-sized field we played on still meant running five or more miles. Incidentally, the equator crosses the middle of the field we played on. When I went to college [in the US], there was no soccer—no youth leagues, no high school or college teams, so I played a lot of tennis until my senior year, when there were enough students like me who had played youth soccer elsewhere that we started a team that the school designated as varsity and continued after I graduated. When I had a job teaching at a small college I started a club team as a player-coach, and when I went to Salem, I started and coached a women's team. In Winston-Salem, I played in a local league into my fifties. I also helped coach the youth teams my two kids played in and started refereeing. As the sport grew I started refereeing in high school and then college and adult, which I continued into my sixties. What makes people love soccer? Why do you love it? Mary: Can you explain what is special about this sport other than being so physically demanding? What makes people love soccer? Why do you love it? How did you offset the heat caused by so much exertion? Jump into edge of the Congo River? Were you actually leaping in the air and rolling on the ground? Were there injuries? Any photos of you playing, even at an older age? One thing I don't remember in Congo is taking drinking water everywhere as we do now. And I don't remember being thirsty. Did you boil your water for 20 mins as we did? Doug: There are several reasons people love soccer—all it takes is a ball (contrast what American football players have to wear), so all kids play it growing up, even on city streets; people who have grown up playing it know how much skill it takes and appreciate the skills and moves of the players. Action is continuous, unlike baseball or football. The rule book is short and simple, so everyone knows the rules and can usually understand the play and the referee's decisions. All 22 players (except the goalies when the ball is at the other end of field) are in constant movement and involved in the play. You always know where the ball is; movement is created by the players and not predetermined and called by coach, as it is in American football. Those are also the reasons I love it. I loved playing, and coaching, and refereeing, and training referees, and watching. 2024: Street vendor selling bottled water in Kinshasa. Plastic and plastic pollution are now ever present in Congo. In Congo we drank only water that had been boiled and filtered. My conditioning was such that I could sweat all afternoon, then come home and drink a quart or two of water before dinner, and more during. It was too inconvenient to try to carry a bottle around. I liked being in the shade, but I never felt overheated, and I was too lazy to go down the hill to the river's edge. Also, single people don't scare the crocs away. We went in at a shallow backwater, since the current was so swift you could get swept away, and in groups, to discourage the crocs. I am attaching the only picture I have of me playing. This is in the adult league in my forties. Jumping in the air, yes. Being tripped, frequently. Minor bumps and bruises weren't rare, but I never had a serious injury. At Bolenge, in the afternoons, it was almost always between 90F and 100F—both temperature and relative humidity, similar to a July day on the Gulf Coast where we spent our furloughs. Mary: To follow up on the foot washing—did you have running water in Bolenge? Where did your water come from? How did you heat it? Did you have an outhouse? Doug: Yes, we did have running water. We had gutters that emptied into a cistern. We pumped water up into gas barrels in the attic to give us pressure. If the cistern ran out we carried water from the river (a hundred yards away). Since one way or the other we had a water supply, we did not need an outhouse. At first we heated water over the wood stove. Later we got a tank with pipes that fed the water through the stove from the bottom to the top of the tank to provide running hot water in the kitchen. For the rest of the house, we carried buckets of hot water from the kitchen. Yes, foot washing was part of the daily routine, never to be missed. Doug is in the air on the left. Mary: Doug, You have no photos from childhood aside from passport photos, then the only photo you send me is this photo of you midair. So, follow-up question: What is happening? Why are you in the air, and how did you land? For the first time ever tonight I watched part of a soccer match on television. It looks like they have magnetic feet. And I can see they have more power kicking than they would have with throwing. I do have one indelible experience with a soccer ball which demonstrated to me how heavy the ball is. In 2nd or 3rd grade in France I decided to run across an opening where boys were playing soccer at the other end. Suddenly an extremely dense and heavy ball hit me in the head and nearly took my head off. Here is a YouTube from the Portugal/DR Congo match: massive Congolese guy springs straight up into the air, preparing his body to strike the ball with his head midair with maximum force. Amazing. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N6udS21UXFg —think of the skill involved in a round head hitting a round ball that is flying through the air at that kind of speed and steering it that precisely into the upper corner of the goal. Doug: Hi Mary, I'm glad you watched this game and hope it induced you to watch more. The score by the DRC player is indeed impressive—think of the skill involved in a round head hitting a round ball that is flying through the air at that kind of speed and steering it that precisely into the upper corner of the goal. Many head balls go astray. A good example of why soccer is so much fun to watch. The way they can control the ball with their feet is another reason. The ball weighs one pound and can be very hard when it is fully inflated, so it can truly knock you for a loop if you are small or unprepared. It can hurt if you are neither. I've had many examples of both. If the picture of me had been taken a fraction of a second sooner you would have been able to tell that the ball was coming off my head. To get the ball I had to jump higher than my opponent. With experience you learn to come down on your feet after a jump like that. During our second furlough our house at Bolenge burned down, so childhood pictures and everything else burned up. Since our marriage I was the photographer, so I don't appear in them. Mary: Doug, I'm sorry your house burned down. And yes, about the goal made by the Congolese player—I have been thinking about the skill and timing involved. He launched straight into the air and arranged his massive shoulders midair so that he had the power behind his head to strike the ball with great force. Incredible focus and intention! Then, like you said, he had the skill to land on his feet after. First Congolese goal in World Cup history, by Yoane Wissa in the match against Portugal I have to say you have really opened my eyes to soccer Doug. The moves are unbelievable, the acceleration is amazing. But I really feel for the goalies—the way those guys launch themselves—they don't land on their feet. [Later, I sent this beautiful slow-motion video link of Cristiano Ronaldo to Doug.] https://www.facebook.com/reel/892750957156251 Doug: Very fancy footwork! Each touch of the ball has to be precise in direction and distance to befuddle and elude the defender. Part of the creativity of soccer. This is why he [Cristiano Ronaldo] is among the top scorers in the game. [then after Congo's Léopards lost to England in the last 5 minutes of the game…] Doug: I watched the game today. DRC played a terrific game! England was lucky to come back, and the Congo team showed that they belong in this company. Mary: I was thinking what a winner Congo has been on the world stage—not just athletically but with the creativity of animation, dance and music on social media (do a search for "Fimbu"). Also the panache of making their entrance in designer clothing as the Léopards. And being such brilliant underdogs. This triumph is much bigger and more powerful than a loss in one soccer game! For DR Congo losing the England match was a spectacular win, whereas for England losing would have just been a terrible loss and nothing but a loss. Doug, now that you've gotten me into watching game highlights, especially in slow motion, can you explain what is happening in the penalty kick by Cristiano Ronaldo where he fakes out the Croatian goalie? When I freeze these frames the goalie is already jumping to the left as Ronaldo has his foot recoiled. Do you think he was able to decide which way to kick in that instant? Now this poor goalie who jumped the wrong way is traumatized for life. Doug: When you use freeze frame you get below human reaction time. I think he made up his mind where to aim before he started his approach but wanted to fake out the goalie. The goalie uses the angle of approach and of the hips to guess, then goes that way after he thinks the kicker can no longer adjust. By going straight at the goalie the kicker will score whichever way the goalie goes. It's all a mind game, plus skill of aiming. Mary: As someone totally new to the game and from what little I've seen, it looks like the most amount of energy, running, falling, sliding and crashing earns the least amount of points. Eventually, due to exhaustion or frustration, someone receives a penalty. Then, in a complete change of pace, the game can be won with a single kick. Doug, thanks to you I have been introduced to the game where humans defy evolution by not using their hands and attempt to be ambidextrous with other body parts. Thanks to "Fimbu" and the explosion of Congolese dance and music created in fervor for their team, along with the world, I was swept up in excitement for les Léopards! Also having watched unbelievable feats by the greatest soccer players of all time, I now understand the enormity of Congo being able to end the game in a draw with the living legend Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and coming so close with their game against England. Click the red "Donate" button at top right to see Education Congo's donation options at two leading universities in DR Congo. Or, if you would like to donate to one of Education Congo's scholarship funds in honor of Doug's parents, click one of the buttons below to go directly 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.)

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.)

We were thrilled to be able to grab tickets for the Congo versus Uzbekistan World Cup game last Saturday night in Atlanta (6/27/2026) It was incredibly exciting. The atmosphere was totally electric inside the stadium as well as all of the surrounding areas in downtown Atlanta. There appeared to be thousands of Congolese fans or Congo fans, I should say. The mixture was a lot that were from Congo but also a ton of people that were local to Atlanta or had come from around the country for the game, flying their Congo flags, wearing Congo jerseys and cheering enthusiastically. My family was able to go—so my wife, my son, my daughter my three grandchildren—were all able to be there at the game. We were seriously pumped. We had fabulous seats that were right along the penalty line or the box on the end where Congo was on offense on the first half of the game. We felt they scored in that half, but the ref called it back, saying that there had been a foul as the Congo player advanced toward the goal. We thought it was a poor call. I ran into a couple of friends there—the granddaughter of old friends Bill and Effie Rule, in an accidental encounter. Also ran into a friend from Congo, Eric Kamba, who lives in Boston. But among the thousands and thousands of people—actually over 68,000 inside the stadium—it was really hard to connect with somebody unless you just happened to bump into them by accident. So now the Congo Leopards will move on to the knock-out round and play England on Wednesday night. Really hoping they have a great game and can beat England. One of the really cool aspects of the event was the way fans celebrated together—even from opposing teams. People supporting opposite sides posed for photos together, grinned, high-fived, and just thrived on the electric atmosphere. Jimmy Shafe, Board Member, Education Congo Support the education solution in Congo! Click on the red donate button at top right to donate to tuition scholarships at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa or Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA) in Bukavu. We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note UPC or EUA scholarships on the memo line 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.)