Kinshasa: 'The night has its own realities' group helps impoverished children

For the past three years, Sarah Ndele and her friends have been traveling through the working-class neighborhoods of Kinshasa as part of their project “Butu nde Makambu” (“The Night Has Its Own Realities”). Their goal: to reach out to impoverished young people to introduce them to drawing, painting, music, and dance performances, in the hope of fostering their social reintegration.

 Ndele says, “through this project, we want to show that beyond the danger, the night is also full of realities. We’ve created a nighttime atmosphere where we can produce our artwork. There are workshops in painting, dance performance, and music. We’ve brought together young people who live on the streets and others who live with their families, but who share the same passion for art. Instead of letting them wander the streets at night with nothing meaningful to do, we bring them together to create something as a group. ”

 Plamedy runs the painting workshop at Butu nde Makambu. He hopes that the knowledge passed on to these young people will enable them to build artistic careers and steer clear of drug use, which seriously harms their health.

Plamedy says, “today, we’re here to show them the right path to follow, so that it won’t be too late for them tomorrow. The drugs they’re using are very harmful to their health. We’ve come with the determination to bring about change and offer them better prospects for the future.”

 At just 12 years old, Chris is an orphan living on the streets of Lemba, in Kinshasa. Tonight, he took part in the painting workshop. He dreams of pursuing a career in drawing.

“I’m glad to be here tonight. The activities went very well. My hope is to learn how to draw well through my time at Butu nde Makambu,” Chris says.

Butu nde Makambu thus joins the many local initiatives working to raise awareness and provide guidance to young Congolese people, in order to steer them away from delinquency and drug addiction.