CDCC School Desk Project

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The Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo (CDCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was founded in 1889, and has been connected with what today is Global Ministries since its inception. With over 650,0000 members, the CDCC has 22 ecclesial regions located in the Equator, Bandundu, East Congo, Lower Congo, and Kinshasa regions. In addition to the church’s robust women’s programs, its six hospitals and many health centers, the CDCC also runs more than 850 schools across the country.

Many of the CDCC schools are located in remote areas of the country, accessible only by river, and were established many decades ago. In recent years, the Democratic Republic of the Congo government decided that primary education would be free to all children. Since this decision, the CDCC has experienced a significant increase in the student population at each of their schools. Today it is common that classrooms are overcrowded and there are not enough chairs and desks for each student. Therefore, many students are sitting on the floor each day in order to attend class.

The CDCC Education Department is raising funds for new school furniture to address this current priority for CDCC schools. The CDCC is working with church members who can build school benches, chairs, and tables, thereby providing an income-generation project for church members with this skillset. As the new classroom furniture is built, they will be distributed to the over 660 CDCC schools, so that more students will have seats while learning.

Update: May 2022

The Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo (CDCC) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was founded in 1889, and has been connected with what today is Global Ministries since its inception. With over 650,0000 members, the CDCC has 22 ecclesial regions located in the Equator, Bandundu, East Congo, Lower Congo, and Kinshasa regions. In addition to the church’s robust women’s programs, its six hospitals and many health centers, the CDCC also runs more than 850 schools across the country.

Since the decision to make primary education free for all children by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the CDCC has experienced a 72% increase in enrollment. Today, only around 10% of CDCC school classrooms are equipped with desks. In schools without desks, most students have bamboo to sit on and are writing on their thighs, or they are sitting on the floor. Since the project has begun, the CDCC has furnished 90 desks with support from Global Ministries and other partners, including the Besenge school in Mbandaka. In the upcoming year, the CDCC hopes to build 1,000 desks for 10 schools.

Update: March 2023

The Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo’s goal is to build 1,000 school benches for 100 schools in the city of Mbandaka and the territories of Bikoro and Ingende. Since the implementation of free education for all children across the country, the number of children enrolled in school has substantially grown. Parents are organizing to build school buildings using adobe bricks, and the CDCC has committed to building desks. Each classroom can accommodate 25 desks, which will provide seating for 50 children in total. After reaching their goal for Mbandaka, Bikoro, and Ingende, they plan to focus on the Tshuapa region, which has more than half of the schools run by the CDCC.

To reduce the cost of manufacturing the desks, the CDCC has designed workshops that train young people in various aspects of the process. This strategy also creates a source of income for the local community. One student, Mondjolo testified about the impact the desks have had on their education and school experience: “Before our school was equipped with school desks, I had a lot of difficulty writing correctly and sometimes the letters I wrote did not allow my teacher to read what I had actually written. But with the school desks I can put my notebook on the board and write correctly. It has allowed me to have higher grades now, and I am sure to pass from class without problems since my teacher can read exactly what I write.”

A gift of $30 could provide one desk.
A gift of $300 could provide ten desks for a classroom.