#OPLAStories - The thank you notes of two young people, Muhindo and Daniela reached us from the Democratic Republic of Congo
Tainã Santana of the OPLA Team
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been in conflict for more than 30 years and today it is experiencing a dramatic situation of insecurity caused by a multitude of complex and deeply rooted factors. Numerous armed groups, including Congolese forces and rebel groups are fighting for control of entire regions, especially in the east of the country. In the meantime, the resulting socio-economic crisis is getting worse and worse.
In this dramatic scenario, thanks to the commitment of various local operators, the Economy of Communion is trying to invest in the education of young people so that the country may hope for a better future. Here we are bringing to you the story of two of them: Muhindo and Daniela.
Muhindo is a young man from Beni, a town in the province of North Kivu, in the north-east of the country. The EoC supported his university studies in Management and Economics, which he has just completed. Muhindo writes to us,
"Thanks to your generosity, I was able to reach my goal and complete my academic course. It is with great pleasure that I express my sincere thanks to you and our entire family for your support, both financial and moral, during this long and difficult journey. Here I am today, at the end of my university studies in Management and Economics, which I have completed with distinction."
In Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, home to some two and a half million people - including around half a million displaced persons - there are fears that the guerrillas may soon advance, with potentially devastating consequences for the Congolese government's control of the region. 
It is from there that Daniela, a student at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Goma, who has completed her sixth year of training out of the seven in her curriculum, writes to us. Last year, the EoC supported her on her journey, and despite the context in which she finds herself, Daniela writes,
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support you have given me over the past academic year. I am getting ready to start my final year, which will begin in May and it will last 12 months. For this final year, I think my family will be able to pay my tuition fees. So, I prefer to leave the opportunity to other people who need it more than me."
It is really touching to see how much communion helps each person to discover that they, too, can give, even in the most dramatic situations. To regain hope for a better future, in which education can contribute to community development and help the country take one more step towards peace, is certainly not easy. But thanks to people like Muhindo and Daniela, who choose to dedicate their lives to the victory of books over weapons, this hope is not in vain.
Do you find yourself in a context where there are people like Muhindo and Daniela and where you, too, want to become an operator? Or are you already one and have other stories like these to tell? Write to us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or send us a message via Whatsapp on +39 389 871 8213. We are counting on you!
