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My academic journey started in 2009, when I had just graduated from state school in Kananga. I was 18 years old and wanted to apply for enrollment at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in medical school. I had so dreamed of attending UPC because I had iknew about the excellent training given there. But since studies were expensive there, my parents had resolved to enroll me in the University of Our Lady of Kasai. Surprisingly, there were no more places for new candidates in medicine there on the day I applied. We were discouraged.    One day, my parents were invited to a wedding party. Mom could not attend so I accompanied Dad to represent her. We met IMCK Tshikaji Administrator Kabibu, and he told us about someone who worked with a nonprofit (Education Congo) supporting the studies of young women. It was then that we got to know Mr. Shafe and applied for scholarship assistance through UPC. Education Congo agreed to support me from the preparatory through my final year of medical school!  My dream was to become a gynecologist and public health expert, and did not want to give up my dream. In my third year, I experienced difficulties—needing just one more point in Physiology to be promoted. If I had to drop out, this meant I would have been unemployed after spending three years in medical school.  In 2015, I enrolled in Medicine at the Vaal University of Technology in South Africa. But as medical studies are very expensive, my parents wanted me to study nursing for four years instead. Being determined to become a doctor, I could not be convinced to pursue any other career. My parents and I decided that I would return to the Congo. I wanted to continue with medicine at UPC, but I thought that Education Congo had forgotten me and that my scholarship had been given to someone else. To my surprise, my name appeared on the scholarship list, and I realized that I had not been forgotten. When I returned to UPC to reintegrate into the 3rd degree in medicine, my South African colleagues laughed at me and said that I had made the wrong decision.  I have now completed my studies as a general practitioner. I want to express my feelings of gratitude to the Shafe family and Education Congo for supporting me so much during this long academic journey!!!   Misenga Ntumba,  2022 medical school graduate of UPC

Imagine having to carry your sick child or spouse down a long winding path to the river on a hot humid day in the Congo. After hiring a canoe and pilot you then embark on a 3+ hour journey down a fast flowing river. There is a good likelihood you will need to navigate around areas with hippos or crocodiles on this trip. Eventually you reach the nearest town with a medical facility. The last leg of your voyage involves hiring a taxi to take you to the hospital where you join the long queue of people waiting to be seen by a doctor. You hope you have arrived in time… Photo credit: Bruno Baerg These were the kinds of experiences familiar to Moluamba Clavers as he grew up in a village distant enough from the city of Mbandaka in the DRC that the only way to access medical care was via dugout canoe. After experiencing this reality firsthand, Moluamba became determined to study medicine so that he could make medical care more readily and easily available to the people in smaller more remote villages like the one he grew up in. Moluamba got his start as a nursing student in Mbandaka. Subsequent to nursing school he decided that he wanted to become a doctor. He did not have the financial resources for university studies so he and his family moved to Kinshasa where he worked as a nurse, saving up money as he was able. Once at l’Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa he found that he didn’t have sufficient funds to complete his studies. He wrote a letter to the university administration asking if there were any scholarships available. UPC was able to grant him a scholarship through Education Congo. Moluamba is now nearing completion of his medical studies! Ernie Ross, president of Education Congo, recently met Moluamba while visiting l’Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) in Kinshasa. Education Congo board members periodically travel to the DRC to engage face to face with our partners on the ground to assess programming and ensure that our mutual goals and vision for education are in alignment. Moluamba is very grateful to Education Congo for the help we’ve given him through our scholarship program. It has made it possible for him to succeed in his studies and thus move towards his goal of providing medical care to more remote communities. Thank you for your support in making Moluamba’s journey as a health practitioner possible!

In response to strong demand, Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) established a computer science department in 2017—the Faculté des Sciences Informatiques (FASI). That first year over 300 students enrolled!  More women joining the ranks Every year, more and more women are applying. As of 2024, 30% of first-year students enrolled were women. Students hail from many different educational backgrounds—ranging from math and chemistry to teaching and literature.   More applicants than space available Last term, after culling from 700 applicants who took the entrance exam, FASI was only able to accept 396 new students due to lack of space. Unfortunately, lack of funds for tuition has subsequently forced 47 of first-year students to become “inactive.” If they can afford tuition next year or can get an Education Congo tuition scholarship, they will be able to re-enroll in the program. On average 10–15% of new students drop out due to financial pressures.  Highly motivated students Very few fail scholastically. The attrition rate lowers significantly as students advance in the program and can see a bright future at the end of the tunnel. As Prof. David Kutangila, Dean of FASI expressed, “They see a clear vision of the careers they will have upon completing their studies.” Jobs aplenty await graduates Employment is available from Congolese employers in telecommunications (Airtel, Vodacom and Orange), commercial banking (Rawbank and Equity) and government. FASI partners with many employers to place students in internships. Special events and programs also facilitate matching students with employers. FASI leadership and faculty FASI is well staffed with two full-time professors and 28 more professors pulled from other departments at UPC as well as from other universities in Kinshasa. Four of these professors are women.  The Dean of FASI, Prof. David Kutangila, received his PhD in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Granada in Spain in 2005.  Outstanding investment in the future of the Congo A Congolese benefactor has funded the construction of a new building for FASI. When it is completed, it will provide much-needed classroom space for 1st and 2nd year students. More news to come Another small team from Education Congo visited UPC in June. Stay tuned for updates.

We need your help as we continue to grow the TASOK (The American School of Kinshasa) Alumni Scholarship Fund for Congolese students at Université Protestante au Congo (UPC).  Envision a university that has grown from 3 (yes three) to 9,000 students during the past 60 years—in what has been the direst of circumstances at times. That is Université Protestante au Congo. Many of you personally recall fellow students whose families formed the original faculty of the university. From the original School of Theology, UPC has now expanded to include Schools of Business/Economics, Law, Medicine and Computer Science. UPC’s alumni have gone on to receive Fulbright Scholarships and work in a variety of sectors ranging from private equity firms to nonprofits. The former Rector of UPC, the late Dr. Daniel Ngoy, was a UPC alumnus. Another PhD graduate of UPC, Fatuma Ngongo Kilongo, is the first woman head of Université Evangélique en Afrique, the other university that Education Congo supports.  Many of us including, Jimmy Shafe ’67 and Margaret Loewen ‘72, grew up in Congo and attended TASOK. Because we saw the need, we all became involved in a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Education Congo, which raises awareness and support for higher education as the long-term solution for building a stronger Congo. Our deep connections to Congo have led to the development of the TASOK Scholarship Fund for UPC students. Many of the university students do not have the money for the annual tuition of only $800-$1,200. Last year, almost 1,000 UPC students were unable to pay their entire tuition or the balance of their tuition at the end of the year, resulting in being unable to take exams and proceed to the next year of studies. Support the education solution to build a stronger Congo! You can make a positive, lasting impact on this country that ranks near the bottom of the U.N. Development Index (a measurement of a country’s achievement in health, knowledge and standard of living). Congo’s potential for stability and growth in the heart of Africa is tremendous. Education is the key. Make a contribution to TASOK's Scholarship Fund for UPC students. Proceeds from this fund pay for scholarships year after year. The larger the fund, the larger the payoff—so please help to keep building this fund! To donate click on the red Donate button in the header, select "Named Funds" then scroll to TASOK Alumni—or any other Education Congo named fund you wish to donate to. We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “TASOK Alumni” on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, 2216 Elgin Road, Winston-Salem, NC  27103. If you would like to start a new named fund with the designation of your choice, email info@educationcongo.org . As of 10/15/2024 the balance is $52,018 with its earnings paying out every year for scholarships at Université Protestante au Congo. Bravo TASOK Alumni—let's keep building this fund!

Université Protestante au Congo's Rector, Daniel Ngoy Boliya, was a longtime colleague, friend and partner of Education Congo. He died on March 2, 2023, at Centre Médicale de Kinshasa. Ernie Ross was a speaker at Rector Ngoy’s funeral in Kinshasa, which was attended by over 1,000.      Shortly after Rector Ngoy's death, Education Congo board members set up a UPC scholarship fund to honor of his 30-year contribution to higher education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As of December 21, 2023, additional donors have brought the fund's total up to $19,904. Once the fund reaches $25,000, it will begin paying out earnings to scholarships annually.    Only $5,100 more to go! Please help move this fund along into production by donating.  A lifetime contribution to higher education in Congo Rector Ngoy led the university as it built a student body of more than 8,000, over 55% of whom are currently women. He expanded the curriculum, most notably by adding a medical school to train doctors for the rural areas of Congo. He cultivated good relationships with both national and international partners, which enabled his administration to bring UPC to a high level of development in the areas of infrastructure, academic teaching and research programs. Under Rector Ngoy's leadership. UPC signed numerous cooperation agreements with universities at home and abroad. In Congo, UPC signed agreements of cooperation with Université de Kinshasa and Université Catholique du Congo. In Africa, UPC is a leading member of the network of Protestant Universities in Africa (RUPA), and a formal protocol of cooperation was signed by Rector Ngoy and his counterpart at Université Marien Ngouabi in Brazzaville. Numerous other universities are in formal collaboration with UPC as a result of Rector Ngoy’s leadership, including Université Paris-Saclay, the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the University of North Carolina (UNC), Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Songsil University in Seoul, South Korea. Support the education solution to build a stronger Congo! Make a contribution to Ngoy Scholarship Fund for UPC students. Once the fund reaches maturity at $25,000, its earnings will pay for scholarships year after year. To donate click on the red Donate button in the header, select "Named Funds" then scroll to Ngoy Fund—or any other Education Congo named fund you wish to donate to. We are also happy to accept donations by check. Note “Ngoy Fund” on the memo line and mail to Education Congo, 2216 Elgin Road, Winston-Salem, NC  27103. Update as of 5/25/2024:  Daniel Ngoy's named fund has almost reached maturity. Current balance is $24,114, so only $886 more to go before it will start paying out to scholarships every year! Good news:  As of October 2024, the fund in memory of Daniel Ngoy is now fully funded and will begin paying out from next year on. The larger the fund, the larger the payoff—so please help to keep building this fund! For information about starting your own named fund, please email us at info@educationcongo.org .

“Education is to me one of the pillars of the development of my country,” declares Celeste Mujinga Musasa, a 2017 graduate of Université Protestante au Congo's Medical School. A native of Kinshasa, Celeste had imagined becoming a doctor since she was a child. Due to childhood illnesses, she spent quite a lot of time in hospitals and quickly saw the ‘superpowers’ the doctors possessed and wanted to develop the same skills to help others.   Université Protestante au Congo's Medical School’s 8-year program is very comprehensive and requires dedication. Midway through, when the curriculum became focused on medical studies, Celeste was inspired by her professors, particularly Dr. François Lepira, who made the world of medicine come alive. Her decision to study medicine was reaffirmed. Celeste spent her internship year at the rural hospital in Vanga where she found her calling. Witnessing so many children dying of malaria in Vanga had a tremendous impact on her. Influenced by her professor Dr. Thierry Bobanga, she decided to pursue parasitology to participate actively in the eradication of malaria. After completing her Master’s degree in medical microbiology, Celeste continued to plan for the future. She located a Ph.D. advisor and program at Keele University in England that would champion her research in malaria. Early in her medical studies, she realized that despite her ability to treat an ailment, a true advancement in medical interventions in the DRC can only come with years of advanced biomedical research. Celeste strives for a healthy Congo as she continues the fight against malaria.

The service took place in three stages: Bringing the body from the morgue to the church, the service and the interment. I was told that the cathedral can hold up to 7,500 people. My guess is that there were over 3,000 for the service. The activities at the morgue started at 9 am. The internment ended around 4 pm with no breaks to speak of. It was a very long day but also rewarding. They didn't tell me when I was to be called on to speak so I was busy watching other activities before realizing that they were calling on me. Then the translator (from Lonkundo to French) didn't show up, so they had to find someone. In the end, all went well. More people than I can count told me how much they appreciated Education Congo sending someone. They took such great care of me. I would have no idea of what was next, only to find someone there to guide me. So, that is it for now… Short video clip of Ernie speaking at Daniel Ngoy's funeral When Ernie starts speaking in Lonkundo, the crowd responds with a roar of warm applause!