March 17thEyeglasses for Congo
North Kildonan Mennonite Church has been supporting women’s literacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo for some years now. In a recent project—collecting eyeglasses for these Congolese women to use—they were joined by Charleswood Mennonite Church as well.
The work in DR Congo is a ministry of African Inter-Mennonite Mission Network (AIMM), a partner organization of Mennonite Church Canada. The women’s literacy project was started by three women of different Mennonite denominations in the region: Marie Fumana, Hélène José, and Adolphine Tshiama. These women were concerned about women’s literacy and thus their ability to contribute as leaders in the church.
Once the project was approved by AIMM, the women went to work. “We were given blackboards, chalk, megaphones, cameras (to illustrate our reports), and primers,” said Adolphine in a Mennonite Mission Network report in 2022. “We rode motorcycles across long distances and endured many hardships. There wasn't a lazy person among us. We were encouraged by the praise we received from people who learned to read through our ministry.”
The project has been very successful in developing a curriculum to train trainers who educate women in reading and writing. Hundreds of women have been able to contribute to the work of the church with these new skills.
John Fumana, AIMM representative, was at NKMC last fall, where he collected the eyeglasses and brought them to DR Congo. The glasses have been put to good use there, as recent pictures sent by AIMM attest (see images).
Pray for this important work in DR Congo, and for the ministries of our partner organization AIMM throughout Africa. If you’d like to donate to help the AIMM women’s literacy project in Congo, you can do so here.