Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kinshasa (Fides Service)- “The only means we had were a Christian spirit and a little common sense. Something had to be done to improve the standard of living of 12,000 people, the women especially” says Congolese law graduate Nelly Tshela who is head of a Social Action Programme in Kimbondo an outlying district of Kinshasa capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The programme was launched ten years ago and the promoters were inspired by the teachings of Saint Josemaria Escrivà de Belanguer on the necessity to sanctify temporal structures through daily work. “An individual or a society which is indifferent to tribulations and injustices is an individual or a society which fails to match up to the love of the heart of Christ” the founder of Opus Dei used to say.
In Kimbondo tribulations and injustices are not lacking. Like the other outlying districts of Kinshasa where the people are mostly urbanised farmers, in the last 10 years Kimbondo has seen increasing unemployment and poverty, due also to civil war. “We were dismayed most of all by the situation of women living in precarious conditions, following ancestral customs, condemned to a position of inferiority. We felt we must help them” Ms Tshela said. “These women in the best of cases have an elementary education. To improve their condition first of all they need to understand that it is important to learn new things, this includes for some, even to read and write. At first they are not very appreciative of the professional formation they receive because they are so used to seeing the future as farming and providing for the family. But when they realise the utility of the things they learn, then they begin to want a better quality of life”.
The programme directress described the methods used to help women improve the living conditions: “We strive to held them develop their common sense. We dialogue; discussing their problems we help them discover new horizons. We organise sewing and handcraft classes for them and have also taught better agricultural methods. Those who wish may attend classes on Catholic teaching and morals and receive pastoral care from the priests of the Opus Dei Prelature, always available”.
The Social Action Programme includes a special initiative for girls, Kimbondo High School of Dressmaking opened in September 1997. “The school gives the girls a profession and this allows them to improve their quality of life. Besides learning to design and make clothes, the girls also are trained to be rural teachers so they can pass what they have learned on to other people” said Ms Tshela. “In Kimbondo the goal of development is possible but only if the women cooperate. This has been our conviction from the start. Rather than a subject to study, development is doing. This is our philosophy” the head of Social Action Programme concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 7/11/2005 righe 42 parole 534)
