Educating the children of Yetsi: A letter from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Over the Christmas period, we were delighted to receive blessings of the season along with a news update from Bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC, who was ordained bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2019, and who has been working since to improve desperately needed educational facilities in the diocese.

Previously named superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, Bishop Toussaint is the first MSC African bishop. The diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, located in North West of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1961. Covering an area of 42,000 km, the population of the diocese is estimated at 620,000, and a small clergy of 24 priests, incorporating three MSC communities, have been ministering to the 15 parishes in the diocese for over 60 years.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked as one of the poorest countries in Africa, and the majority of parishes in the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela are located in extremely isolated areas, where transport is difficult as the roads are in a severe state of disrepair. Living conditions are tremendously difficult for local people, who largely depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, and who struggle terribly with poverty.

Since 2020, Bishop Toussaint has been fundraising and working to build a new school in the Yetsi region, with mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province lending their support through our MSC World Projects Appeals in 2020 and 2021.

Thanks to the generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province following our 2020 appeal, Bishop Toussaint and his team were able to begin funding the initial stages of the construction of a school building in Yetsi. With the help of our 2021 appeal, Bishop Toussaint and the MSC team were able to buy essential basic equipment such as benches and tables. Prior to this, many children spent classes sitting on the floor. “Some of the pupils bring their own chairs from their homes,” Bishop Toussaint wrote at the time. “However, many of these children are from homes that have so little, they don’t even have a chair to bring to school. Those children who don’t have them, they have the floor, where they sit down and follow the teacher.”

This Christmas, Bishop Toussaint writes with news of further developments in the ongoing construction of the Yetsi school, as the MSC community there continue to work towards giving local children the education they need.

“Greetings from our deepest forest centre, Bokungu,” writes Bishop Toussaint. “I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of the blessings of the Lord.”

“We have been collecting local material for the Yetsi school construction, and the boat we have been waiting for, for so long, finally is close to arriving in Bokungu. Cement, sheet metals (plates), and iron bars will finally reach us here. It is my duty to build a good school for our pupils there. Thank you so much for your support and please keep in your prayers an intention for Bokungu-Ikela, a rural diocese full of challenges.”

In a Christmas letter, Bishop Toussaint writes, “While all humanity is facing multiple challenges and fears, the Lord opens before us, through the birth of his beloved Son, Emmanuel, a path of light and life, of hope and love. It is with the Prince of Peace that we can say to all of you: ‘Trust, do not be afraid’. (Mk 6:50).”

“I express my deep gratitude to you and to the Promotion Office for the support to our Diocese. May the Lord bless you.”

With the Catholic Church being one of the main sources of hope for struggling families in the region, Bishop Toussaint and our MSCs continue to do their best to lay the groundwork to give local children, and generations to come, vital resources in education and with it, hope for the future.