Fundraising gala to benefit non-profit work in Congo

In a country filled with international aid agencies, a Bloomington nonprofit chose to focus on development.

Founded by Ann Marie Thomson and Jim Calli in 2003, Giving Back to Africa partners with educators in the Democratic Republic of Congo to teach Congolese children.

Tickets for Giving Back to Africa’s inaugural gala, Congo: Color the Future, sold out in two weeks, GBA executive director Michael Valliant said.

Finch’s Brasserie will cater the benefit, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Individual tickets were priced at $40 for students and $50 for others.

Two mbira players from the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology will perform.
“Bloomington is a huge base of support for us, as we were founded here,” Valliant said. “We have had a tremendous mix of existing supporters, people who’ve been with us from the beginning, as well as new inquiry.”

An exhibit featuring photography by the children GBA teaches is displayed at Old National Bank on Kirkwood Avenue.

“Art and music are a big part — we see that there’s a lot of linkage between what we’re doing, which is leadership development,” Valliant said. “Art is a great way to teach.”

Project manager Dr. Jerry Kindomba is visiting the United States from the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first time. He will speak at the gala tomorrow.

Valliant said Kindomba, who has been working with Giving Back to Africa for about a year, planned his visit to attend the organization’s annual meeting, network in Washington and speak at fundraisers.

The DRC consistently ranks at the bottom of the United Nations Development Index. Like other countries labeled “less developed,” the Congo has struggled to overcome extreme poverty, resource disparities and conflict.

GBA teaches five distinct skills to students at Centre Salisa, the school the organization works with in the DRC.

In the past, students were taught only what they needed to know for exams.

Now, students at Centre Salisa in Mpasa learn to identify an issue they want to address, gather information, analyze the issue, propose a solution and reflect on the
process.

“We’re increasing the capacity of the community to respond with resilience and flexibility to challenges the community will face,” Valliant said. “It is unlikely they will get out of the poverty they’re in anytime soon. Continued infusions of aid only encourage a dependence on outside support.”

Valliant said the organization has already seen students apply critical thinking skills outside the classroom.

A student named Jeremy noticed boys in his neighborhood were causing trouble after school. He started inviting them to play soccer with him so they would not hassle people on the streets.

“He’s applying, already, the skills we’re teaching to an issue he saw in the community,” Valliant said. “At the same time, he’s using empathy, because he used to be one of those boys.”

Valliant said most of the funding to GBA is used for teacher training and curriculum development. Because they use project-based teaching, clean water was the basis of their first curriculum.

The next could include programs addressing issues such as waste management or health.

“The essence of our program right now is developing curriculum around the problems in the community that teach leadership at the same time,” Valliant said. “The problem to address arises out of conversation with the community in the school.”

GBA has a long-term commitment to help communities in DRC become self-sufficient and not rely on development organizations, Valliant said.

“The most important thing is that the youth in the Congo are the future leaders of that country,” Valliant said. “To give them leadership skills that can counter the examples of leadership they see every day means that, in the long term, that country may change.”

— Kate Thacker