As we pulled into Vilo, we didn’t know what to expect...Scott and I had just come from an early morning meeting in Bogoro with a group of people who have physical disabilities with whom we talked about adapting sports to their specific needs. We were both excited and anxious as we had plans to participate in several activities in Vilo that day, such as starting the work of building a soccer field, visiting the primary school and facilitating our first peace education seminar for our committee.
Earlier that week Scott and I set out to do what we thought would be a simple task: get the tools that the community of Vilo needs to start building the soccer field (a 20 pound sledge hammer, two pick axes, and two mining bars). It took us an entire morning to get these tools together in Bunia’s markets as we haggled for the best prices possible and recruited the help of local blacksmiths and welders in assembling our newly purchased tool parts. Later that same day we traveled to Bogoro and were able to deliver these tools to our point of contact in Vilo, Roger. We felt a sense of achievement about being able to supply the community with the additional tools they need to start the work on the field, yet we were filled with uncertainty and apprehension as we thought about the daunting task that lay ahead of us.
After having surveyed the field during a previous visit to Vilo, Scott informed the rest of the Ituri Team of the enormity of building this field. First, he said, we need to clear the field of all tree stumps, boulders/rocks and various different types of plants, grass and weeds that are currently on the field. Then we will need to flatten the field, which has a change in elevation of approximately 15 feet from it’s lowest to it’s highest points, carefully building up retention walls wherever dirt has been displaced. We were left wondering whether this was a realistic goal.
After having surveyed the field during a previous visit to Vilo, Scott informed the rest of the Ituri Team of the enormity of building this field. First, he said, we need to clear the field of all tree stumps, boulders/rocks and various different types of plants, grass and weeds that are currently on the field. Then we will need to flatten the field, which has a change in elevation of approximately 15 feet from it’s lowest to it’s highest points, carefully building up retention walls wherever dirt has been displaced. We were left wondering whether this was a realistic goal.
With this in mind, we got out of the truck and started walking to the field where we were hoping to see a large number of people. Roger had informed us that the village chief had gathered everyone together earlier that week to organize a community workday on the field. As we walked out onto the field we were amazed by the sight of dozens of men working away in the heat of the day, breaking down the massive boulders that seemed to grow in size as the dirt around them was dug-up. Soon after, groups of boys and young men were organized to start digging out the tree stumps that lay deep in the ground. Each age group was responsible for digging out its own tree stump, which resulted in a healthy competition between groups to see who would get their tree stump out first. Scott and I began to think that with this amount of community support perhaps building this field is not only a possibility but also the right thing to do.
Meanwhile, Selina made her way down to the primary school where she paid visits to no less than ten different classrooms. Students filed out of their classrooms for recess and Selina took the opportunity to make some new friends. After recess, Selina walked into the classrooms and students greeted her in unison. She was able to spend time observing school lessons, learning a bit of French grammar and practicing her Swahili in the packed classrooms holding anywhere from 30 to 50 children in each room.
As school was coming to a close, some members of the local soccer team approached Scott and me to see if we wanted to participate in what we understood to be a pick-up soccer game. Of course Scott and I said yes and so we walked down to the school courtyard, which also functions as the community’s soccer field. Children began to assemble around the three of us as more and more community members came down to the soccer field. Scott and I were ushered off into separate classrooms where our respective teams were meeting. Scott and I jogged out onto a very hilly, dusty, hard and rocky soccer field with our respective teams and began warming up in the sweltering midday heat of Congo. As we looked around us we realized that we were surrounded by hundreds of fans in what appeared to be the entire community of Vilo.
The match got underway and we quickly realized how different this game was from the game we grew up playing. Due to the rough conditions of the field we noticed how the nature of the game seemed to change as players preferred to keep the ball in the air rather than play it on the ground and deal with the unpredictable surface of the field. The soccer game was an amazing event for us as it clearly showed the importance of sport for community and how it can be used as a powerful tool to bring people together.
As the match came to a close Selina was busy preparing for our first peace education seminar. During her preparations, as usual, Selina drew the attention of a number of children. Selina decided that she was going to seize the opportunity in what became an impromptu peace education lesson by drawing smiley faces on sticky notes and asking the children what it was. “Nini ni?” Selina asked in Swahili, which means, “What is it?” She then responded to her own question by saying, “Cheka” and “Furahi”, which mean “laugh” and “happy.” Selina continued this activity with the children as she waited for people to come into the meeting. We noticed that when the children left the room they posted these smiley faces around the community, sharing their smiles with their friends and neighbors and putting a few smiles on our own faces.
Our first peace education seminar went extremely well as committee members interacted with topics ranging from the difference between negative and positive conflict to what the idea of peace means to us on a personal level. We noticed that our committee members were really engaging with this material and that some who hadn’t spoken in previous meetings were now openly sharing their thoughts. This truly was a day to remember and it is what we have been working towards since our arrival in Congo. We are hopeful that we will have many more days like it in the coming months and that our work in the Ituri Region is marked by these experiences.
