The Tongo Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is run by our partners Comfort Congo in an area of intense conflict within the country. The institution aims to help young people, and in particular ex-child soldiers, to learn essential skills to help them get work and jobs which serve as an alternative for life in the militia. We recently received some information from Comfort Congo, letting us know how this year’s class are getting on.
There are 138 students currently enrolled in the Tongo VTC, split evenly in groups of 46 between the three classes – sewing, brick-making and literacy. The sewing and brick-making classes have completed their training, while the literacy class sat their final exams on the 15th of October. The year has been a huge success, with 17 of the sewing class already having found work. Comfort Congo told us, “The other 29 learners have yet to find an occupation because they don’t have a sewing machine. That’s the big challenge; to find other donors who can provide these young people with machines. They help us raise awareness in the community, and when they find customers who have clothes to sew, they use the machines in our training workshop. This enables them to earn a little money and support themselves.”
In brick-making, all of the learners have finished their apprenticeship program, but aren’t yet employed as they are struggling to buy brick-making machines. There have been some other challenges for the VTC this year, as 19 sewing machines and 2 brick-making machines were stolen leaving them short on equipment. There were also some delays in starting the training as students struggled to make time in between their efforts to make money through farming. However, notwithstanding these challenges, the students from this year have been making great progress in their studies and now find themselves able to look for jobs which don’t involve going back to the armed groups.
The project has influence far beyond teaching practical skills for employment, and is working towards a change in mindset in many young people who are being driven towards conflict in their society. Comfort Congo says, “The peace building work has been that of making bricks together and being in formed groups while learning together with the local authorities. Also, the sewing and literacy classes have been a good occasion to unite men and women of different ethnic groups to meet and share about peace building, and within the training we insisted on peaceful community building. When making bricks, the main focus was to show to these child soldiers how much it is of capital importance for them to be integrated within the society.”
The amazing outcome of this project is that out of 92 students attending the VTC, not a single one has re-enrolled in the militia. This is an incredible victory, and Paul, the local Chief of the Tongo sector, puts into words just how important this is for the community:
“I am here to thank Comfort Congo for this initiative to have these child soldiers be united together through these worthy projects. These young men and some few ladies had joined negative forces and it was a danger to us because they had their mind changed into enemies to our community in our sector of Tongo. Today, through these projects we see that they are with us, no longer aggressive to the population and seeking how to find daily life in communion with others.
I see these boys going to church on Sundays, going to make bricks on other days, sitting together while sharing experiences on how they came out of the militias, and thinking together on how they can develop this sector with community works, which is a positive impact of this project because it builds our hope. Our sector will no longer be looted and women, even girls, in our sector will no longer fear they will be raped by their own youth. Another thing I found positive is that we are very happy to see that those project brought all the men of different tribes and the women to be meeting together and seeking peace sharing food and water during the different sessions of the training.
It’s also clear to see the impact the centre is having on the individuals enrolled there. David* is one of the students from the brick-making class and shared his story with us.
“I was recruited in the armed group like others and many of us joined. I did not know that life there was going to be of much suffering and I received a lot of threats and ended up doing a lot of wrong things that I regretted and that is what pushed me to flee from the armed group.
Life in my village did not please me and was still difficult, despite what I went through in the armed group, and I was even about to go back to life in the bush if Comfort Congo hadn’t thought about us through this project.
Today, I am happy that I have come to be able to make bricks and make money that helps me cope with some of the challenges I face. I live with my friend and together we go to church and praise God and when the day to go to work comes we continue working and helping others who went through the same life, to work in order to become self-sufficient. God is merciful and has become our reason for rescue and we are thankful to him and thank the donors who granted to Comfort Congo money to organize this project for us and our area.
Brenda* (cover photo) is one of the sewing students and also sharing with us:
“I live here in Tongo and I am here to thank God for this project in our area. This project is a blessing to us women because it brings peace as we were afraid of our youth that were used to raping and looting, even killing women who were very scared to go to the bush for fire wood or to find food in the bush where they hid.
Through this project, boys are now working to help families and themselves and are no longer committed to doing the wrong they did before and it bring peace to us girls and the women from our area. As for us women who did not have occupation, we now are sewing clothes and sell to gain money that helps us to not wander and to cover our basic needs.
Our thanks are addressed to the donors of Comfort Congo who willingly send funds to help us through this project, to help our area that was long ago forgotten and we pray that the almighty God will bless the donors and their organization to prosper.”
*names changed to protect identity