Arts & Engineering

Bertin Kasolene - age 20 - GOMA, DRC

Bertin wants to transform his community through movement arts & mechanical engineering.

 Bertin is the coordinator of two dance companies which utilize movement arts as a platform for personal and community transformation, training youth to become young leaders in the community. As a trainer for the Maendeleo Project, Bertin teaches street boys how to dance and says, “I want to give them hope so that they can make a contribution to the community and the world.”

Bertin also directs the Inuka Dance Company which facilitates the passing down of cultural wisdom and traditions from the elder generations to the younger. The company will host an international dance workshop in Goma in March 2020 called Hadisi Urban Festival, bringing together dancers from Senegal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda for an exciting exchange of dance, arts and cultural empowerment. At the heart of the mission, ‘hadisi’ means ‘storytelling’ in Swahili.

A multifaceted individual, with deep passion and profound talent, Bertin wishes to pursue a university education in Mechanical Engineering in order to bring advancements in agricultural technology to Congo. With a certificate in Mechanics, Bertin has created the design of a machine to assist farmers in harvesting beans more efficiently. He is now hoping to gain the skills necessary to enable its construction. Bertin sees his passions for mechanical engineering and dance as closely intertwined and hopes to continue deepening his skills in both in order to positively impact Congo.

Bertin hopes to pursue a BSc in Mechanical Engineering.

Rodrigue IRAMPA RUBERA - age 26 - GOMA, DRC

Rodrigue is passionate about arts & architectural engineering, seeing opportunities for entrepreneurship in both fields.

"My vision is to reduce the rate of poverty in DRC by providing entrepreneurial skills (in the arts) to people in the communities. I want to build a workshop where I will teach people the arts – how to build their lives with art.”

In 2014, Rodrigue participated in a program through BECE (Building Environment Civil Engineers) through which he received training in household budgeting. He went on to train 6 other people in this content. He hopes to continue training people free of charge. Three of the young people who he trained have finished secondary school and used the skills he taught in order to obtain employment.

Rodrigue currently serves as the Food Monitor for Think Africa. He is also the Head Boy – the representative of males in Think Africa, helping to build relationships.

Rodrigue hopes to pursue a BSc in Architectural Engineering.

MUKESHIMANA Joyeuse - age 20 - Bunagana, DRC

Joyeuse’s vision is to expand the agribusiness sector within the DRC.

“I want to build the market in our community. I want to build a store to keep the things which we sell and sell it in our country. Many people are selling the Irish potatoes outside of the country and I want to make stores to sell them in our communities.”

For Joyeuse, the situation is simple. Farmers in the DRC grow their crops and then, due to a lack of storage facilities, immediately bring their crops to market in Uganda or Rwanda. This leaves families poor and hungry only a few months later.

 "The solution is to be building stores to keep the Irish potatoes and the other types of food such as beans, maize, sorgum.”

 Joyeuse explains how, currently, farmers go to buy seeds in Uganda because local communities in the DRC fail to keep the produce. Therefore, the creation of storage facilities will also enable seeds to be bought locally at lower costs to farmers.  

 "I want to build that store so that everyone who needs the seeds can come to buy in our country because if they go to buy in another country they pay the tax at the border.”

Joyeuse is seeking a $200 business loan to begin construction of agricultural storage facilities.