Dear Friends,
In this issue of the Prince of Peace newsletter, I would like to give the Dean of Students, Fr. Justin Mbavugha, an Assumptionist, an opportunity to provide readers with an update at the end of this 2024-2025 school year and to introduce you to a number of graduating seniors.
Fr. John Franck, AA
We are about to end this school year and I would like to thank all those who, by their prayers and donations, have allowed us to achieve all that we have done here at Prince of Peace. What does the school look like 9 years after it began? Whereas we began with just 6 classrooms, we now have 31: 3 rooms in the nursery school (which are used in the afternoon for adult remedial classes), 13 rooms in the elementary school and 15 rooms in the secondary school. There are also two offices, a library/resource room, and a small canteen. There are some teachers using the hallway as a classroom. So we still have need for more classrooms as well as biochemistry and computer laboratories. In some ways we are the victims of our success. In addition to the classrooms we built this past year (one of which is in memory of Fr. Oliver Blanchette), we were able to dig a well that is providing us with drinking water.
We were fortunate to have 1,281 pupils this year, an increase of 200 from the previous year. Among our students there are many from vulnerable populations: pygmies, orphans who are victims of insecurity, and children abandoned by their parents.
I am also happy to announce that our graduating seniors last year did quite well in the rigorous state exams : 13 of the 16 passed. This year’s class took the exams last week and we are hoping for the same or better results.
We have plans to build, with the help of our benefactors and friends, 7 more rooms (2 rooms to be used as biochemistry and computer laboratories, 1 room for teachers and 4 to be used as classrooms); to build a toilet for 20; to equip the laboratories with materials; to provide the library with a much wider variety of books (novels and manuals of a technical nature).
All in all, as you can see, the picture is quite positive, thanks to you and so many other friends. On behalf of our students, their parents, our teachers and staff, I would like to sincerely thank you and assure you of our prayers for you and your families.
Fr. Justin
Donations can be made to:
The Assumptionists
330 Market Street,
Brighton, MA 02135
(Please indicate that your gift is for Prince of Peace School, Beni)
STUDENT TESTIMONIES
David KATEMBO HANGI 
My name is David KATEMBO HANGI. I’m in my last year here at Prince of Peace in Beni. I am enrolled in the science track. Prince of Peace was started in 2016 to provide an excellent education and at the same time a culture of peace in our country. In fact, 2016 was a year marked by the atrocities of war, the massacres of parents and their children, the kidnapping and pillaging of our parents’ property, the rape of women and girls. Unfortunately, these sad events have continued to the present in parts of our country.
We have received an outstanding formation here in all areas of life: social life, spiritual life, physical life, scientific life, and so on. All of us students and our parents are happy with the education we got. The school has become a second family for me.
Like other students, I have ambitions. They are nurtured in my day-to-day thinking. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. After high school, having concentrated in the sciences, hopefully I’ll go into medicine and then specialize in gynecology, with the aim of saving the lives of mothers, who bring hope to everyone.
I do have some dreams for the school. I’d like the school library to be enriched with more novels and textbooks in every field. Yes, we do have a library, but it remains under-resourced to meet the multiple needs of students. It’s often said that “if the body needs food to grow, the mind also needs reading to blossom and grow scientifically and otherwise”.
Jacques KAMBALE WASUKUNDI
I am Jacques KAMBALE WASUKUNDI, just finishing my final year. I am enrolled in the agricultural and food industries track. I have been here since 2022. The very title of our school, Prince of Peace, indicates the school’s efforts to mobilize everyone to become peacemakers.
The school is located in the large Assumptionist compound, a school environment that offers a good working and studying climate, thanks to the beautiful grounds and buildings. We have a very good staff with comprehensive, in-depth teaching that promotes good student learning. In my track, I have learned to produce, process and preserve food. We could use more practical equipment adapted to my track as well as additional computers and lab equipment. I am planning to do further studies in my field and one day to launch a large agricultural company.
Anaëlle GRACE MUHASA
My name is Anaëlle GRACE MUHASA, and I’m a student at the school in my last year in humanities and sciences. This school belongs to the Assumptionists. Since they enjoy a wonderful reputation in the field of education, my parents thought it best to enroll me here. This school has high pedagogical standards. It provides students with guidance in many areas of spiritual, scientific and moral life, without discrimination. All children are welcome here. A family spirit reigns at the school. The discipline at this school has enabled me to take my studies seriously and manage my time well.
For my future studies, I plan to study medicine. Since I am aware that human life is sacred, it must be well cared for. Beni, the city where I live, doesn’t offer a climate where safeguarding human life is possible. I’d like to be one of the people contributing to humanity’s saving mission. I believe that this inspiration comes from my aunts, both of whom are nurses.
If I don’t become a doctor, I could make a worthy contribution to the mission of saving human lives as a legal advocate, with the aim of bringing justice to the innocent and defending the rights of the oppressed and marginalized.
Jean AJIRENGE BALUGURHA
Hello, my name is Jean AJIRENGE BALUGURHA, a graduating senior. I have been here since 2022, my second year in humanities and sciences. I am completing my studies and am ready to discover a new experience, that of university. I have no regrets about leaving my old school and coming here. It is a school that sets high standards and I consider it my home away from home.
As for the future, I plan to immerse myself in the computer field, as it remains a passion for me. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a developing country where the new technology industry is very backward but will be of primary use in the future. That’s the main reason why I have such an ambition to contribute to the advancement of this industry. Professionally, I see myself in a few years’ time embracing a career as a computer developer; a software engineer or even a data analyst, perhaps with a private career as an entrepreneur.
To conclude, we students and authorities form a family rooted in human and gospel values. This family will remain even after our departure; what we have learned here will remain engraved in our hearts.
Samuel BARAKA NZWEVE
My name is Samuel BARAKA NZWEVE. I began my studies here in 2019. I have just finished my last year, following the humanities/science track. Besides a good academic formation, we have been able to strengthen our spiritual lives and to get to know members of the order. In the spirit of the Assumptionists, we have learned to become men of peace and to solve conflicts peacefully. This is particularly important in a country where there is so much unrest. Prince of Peace is the perfect setting for quality studies and formation.
My fellow students have already indicated some needs that we have to continue the excellent training we receive. Another need that we have is in the field of information and communication technology; the school lacks a network (LAN) that could help enrich our education. The school would benefit from switches, routers, telecommunication devices, etc.
I don’t regret being counted among the graduates of this school. I feel that I am well prepared for college studies and to be a contributing member of my country. For my future studies, I’d like to enter a school of medicine to become a surgeon. I want to be able save lives one day.
Ushindi KAVIRA KASILONGO
I’m Ushindi KAVIRA KASILONGO completing my last year as well in humanities with a specialization in agricultural studies. I am very proud to have chosen this school, considered to be one of the best in Beni. I sincerely thank God for inspiring my parents to enroll me in a school where quality training is one of its primary concerns. I did my primary studies at another school but transferred here in 2017 for junior and senior high school.
I have received what I consider to be a well-rounded education here so that I am now prepared to contribute to my country. I am fortunate to have chosen this school. It is an ideal learning environment. The lush greenery that surrounds us allows us to concentrate on our studies, equipping us with the habits and qualities a learner should possess during and after class. I have come to appreciate how important one’s surroundings are to a holistic education.
For my future studies, I’m interested in strengthening my scientific knowledge in farming and livestock breeding and rural development. I want to be an entrepreneur. Creating my own business remains my passion. I want to help my country no longer to be underdeveloped, importing finished products from elsewhere, but rather become autonomous by producing its own raw materials, transforming them into finished products and finally establishing an international market.
In the context of rural development, I’d like to improve seeds, and seek to popularize new agricultural techniques. I’m committed to finding the problem that’s holding back production in rural areas, and to solving it together with people who share my vision, in order to ensure large-scale production to combat the shortage of basic necessities on the local market.
FATAKI AMANI DIEULA
My name is AMANI FATAKI DIEULA and I too have just completed my time here in the science track. I agree that Prince of Peace is one of the best schools in town. I have admired the teachers who are specialists in their fields. I believe that the school improved my way of thinking and behaving in society.
One day I hope that students will be able to study in peace. The insecurity that we are experiencing creates a climate that is not conducive to study. There have been times when the school has had to suspend classes because of the unrest.
In the future, I want to go into law to be a great judicial defender of men and women who are victims of discrimination, insecurity and injustice in all its forms; to help my country apply law and justice in the different areas of human life. The life of a Congolese must be respected.
