Project: Myrt Schools                   <back>

Able & Willing supports the following programs for Myrt Schools (preschool through high school), WaMbuyu Tech, and the larger community.

Student Aid Programs

Since the beginning in 1995, we have made provisions for students to get financial aid to pay their tuition.  AWIEF implemented three programs that were the first of their kind in all of Congo and have been recognized by the Belgian Consul, the governor of Katanga Province, and the mayor of Lubumbashi as a model for development.

• The Parents Work-for-Tuition Program allows parents to work on construction or weekly maintenance chores in exchange for tuition of up to two children per family. 
• The Orphans Scholarship Program allows any orphan adopted by a family in the village to get free education. 
• The Scouting for Education Program is part of the Myrt School’s Boy Scout and Girl Scout program.  Scouts above the age of 12 can help in construction and community service projects and receive free tuition in Myrt’s secondary and technical schools.  While camping out at construction work sites during summer vacation, the Scouts receive extra academic tutoring in the evenings while helping construction during the day.

Construction

As of April, 2015 the following construction projects remain to be done:

• Finish guest house: electrical work, make furniture, install septic system.
• Finish large lecture room:  electrical work, build new desks
• New classrooms on Poleni campus for grades five and six.
• Security wall for Myrt main campus.

WaMbuyu Tech Trade Shops

Myrt main campus has shops for Woodworking, Metal & Welding, Electronics, Auto.  These shops provide some of their own operating cost by making goods for the local market.  Able & Willing provides some funds for repairing & upgrading machinery, and obtaining tools and supplies. 

Computer Lab

The objectives of our plan to upgrade the computer lab at Myrt School main campus to optimize: security, total acquisition cost, configuration effort, performance, maintenance, life span, and tolerance for harsh environments.

The plan  (2015):

• 30 identical ThinkPad laptops were purchased for $10 each from an electronics recycler (E-end, Frederick, MD) without hard drives.
  • 30 hard drives were provided by E-end in exchange for collecting 2 tons of electronics via a local community recycling fundraising project.
  • One master disk to be configured with all open source software (100% free) and duplicated to the other 29 hard drives.
  • The laptops will be mounted securely to the underside of desks in the Myrt School computer
  • Existing monitors, keyboards and mice will be connected to the laptops
• Configure a recycled computer as a server to improve network performance and provide terabytes of educational material.
• Improve existing Internet connection in the school.

Clinic & Nursing School

Lack of even the most basic health facilities are a big problem in the DRC, particularly for the outlying villages around Lubumbashi. There are occasional outbreaks of cholera in Lubumbashi caused by contaminated drinking water. Malaria, HIV/AIDS and other diseases continue to be a problem. These diseases can easily be treated or even prevented with proper care.  Child birthing and maternal care needs are also critical.  The area needs more clinics and trained nurses.

Beginning in 2006, plans for a clinic and nursing school were developed with participation from the medical department at the University of Lubumbashi and the Lubumbashi Nursing School. A parcel of land adjacent to our school campus in Poleni village was obtained.   Construction was started on a 13 room medical complex (see floor plans in Appendix B) in 2009.  A well was dug, the site cleared and demarked with hedge bushes, the foundation for the entire complex was laid, and the walls of one examination room were built.

Besides making bricks and planting shrub fences, not much additional work has been done, awaiting funds.

Community Programs

Myrt Schools traditionally organize and host the following programs for the community:

• Teacher Training: since 2009, Myrt School has hosted teacher training each year for up to 250 area teachers.  Training is done by WAZA Alliance, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
• Regional Scout Jamboree for Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops in the Katanga Region. Mr. Mbuyu WaMbuyu, the founder and president of AWIEF, values the lessons he has learned through his life long experience with the Boy Scouts while growing up in Congo.  Puma, Mbuyu’s Scout name, has been instrumental in reviving Scout activities in the Lubumbashi region, which had been in decline prior to 1995.  Typically last three days and involve camping, cooking, outdoor contests, science & literature competition, and drill exercises.
• HIV/AIDS education.  Every year since 1999, Myrt Schools has hosted health education seminars taught by AMO Congo, a Congolese NGO started by Congolese doctors in 1993.  Invitations are sent to six nearby villages via flyers and village criers.  Classrooms are always full and multiple sessions are given each year.
• Moringa Program: In 2010 we met Ed Rau, a biologist National Institutes of Health and founder of Sustainable Bioresources, LLC., who convinced us of the wonderful properties of the various parts of the Moringa oleifera tree, including nutrition, fuel oil, and water purification. (See Moringa for Health Program in Mali project page).  The first attempt at planting an orchard was destroyed by birds.  Puma intends on developing this project as part of the school's Scout troop curriculum.
• Community Improvement Programs:  Puma often organizes teams of volunteers (usually parents who "volunteer" work in exchange for free tuition for their children) to improve the community, for example, by planting fruit trees, clearing trash.  In 2014, Puma organized 1,200 volunteers to clear over 3.5 acres and build a community market (see Spring 2015 Newsletter)
• Local Soccer League:  In 2012, Puma organized a soccer league including four area schools.  Myrt students built the goals and made the uniforms.  Able & Willing continues to support the league as needed.