Bricks and mortarboard
Effort to rebuild Congo university has roots in Framingham
Dimandja Kasongo is in the United States for a single purpose: to raise money to rebuild a university in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"That's the only reason I'm here," Kasongo said recently in an interview at his small office above the
A devastating war -- described as the deadliest the world has seen since World War II -- from 1998 to 2003 ripped apart his homeland and destroyed educational institutions, including the university he toiled to establish in the mid-1990s.
Now, with a new government and relative peace taking shape, Kasongo is convinced the school can thrive again.
In 1992, Kasongo left his position as vice president of the Congo Railroad Co. to start a private university in the country's capital, Kinshasa . By 1994, the mechanical engineer had established the French-American University of Kinshasa, providing an alternative to the rigid state-run schools that were available for the few Congolese students who sought higher education.
The university's founding was remarkable for Congo. A higher-education task force of the World Bank and UNESCO noted that the university allowed students to arrange classes around their work schedule, in contrast to the state-run schools, which required full-time attendance. At its peak, 800 students were enrolled in social sciences, biomedical, nursing, and other programs of study, Kasongo said. Courses were taught in English and French, and the curriculum was modeled after the American higher-education system.
In 1998, he established a US-based foundation with the help of the Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church in Cambridge to expand the university, believing that brewing violence along the Congo's eastern border would be contained and not spread to the capital.
He was wrong.
Military conflict involving several neighboring countries consumed the country in late 1998, and the war continued -- killing 4 million people -- until a peace agreement was ratified in spring 2003 .
The country's economy and infrastructure were devastated. Few families could afford the university's $300-a-year tuition.
At one point, families were trying to barter for tuition. One man even offered a television to settle a tuition bill.
"With that, we were no longer able to pay the teachers," said Kasongo, who remained in the United States during most of the war.
"My idea was a short visit to make contact and try to find resources to sustain the university," he explained. "Then the war became a major issue."
He spent some time working as an international higher-education consultant for Harvard University. He said he considered returning to Congo in 2000, but the ongoing war made travel to the region difficult.
Surrogates continued operating what remained of the school on a week-by-week basis, but by 2003 it had shut down. All that's left of it now is a few desks, Kasongo said.
Kasongo, who has contacts and sympathetic friends at institutions including Harvard and Northeastern University, now is working as a substitute teacher of French and science in Framingham's public schools while he runs the foundation out of the downtown office.
"It's time to rebuild the Congo," Kasongo said. "This is a university with a global vision of educating not only the Congolese, the Africans, but also ready to open its doors to Americans in study-abroad programs and cultural exchange. I have received many e-mails from institutions in this country willing to send their students and faculty over there, once the school can open its doors."
He said rebuilding educational institutions is an integral part of rebuilding the country.
"People are talking about trying to fight a disease like AIDS," he said, pointing out that with a population exceeding 60 million, Congo has a little more than 3,000 physicians. "How can you fight the disease without healthcare professionals? We need nurses. We need physicians. There are people who will never see a doctor."
The American University of Kinshasa Foundation's fund-raising goal is $2.5 million, which would pay for a new building and start-up costs. He has been talking to church groups and clergy in Wellesley, Weston, Sudbury, and other area communities about supporting his efforts. He was not able to provide a tally of cash raised so far, but said they're not starting with much.
Greg Tucci , codirector of undergraduate studies in chemistry at Harvard, said his department was prepared to provide books, beakers, analytical balances, and other essential lab materials.
"He talked to me about how he wanted it to be a place where students could come and learn science, especially science related to health, and people from the United States could come and do research. There would be an exchange of ideas and an exchange of science," Tucci said. "I liked the idea a lot, and I was most impressed by Dimandja Kasongo himself. He's so dedicated to this."
Kasongo and Tucci encountered difficulty raising money to ship the materials, and some of the equipment has since been donated to Atlantic Union College, in the Central Massachusetts town of Lancaster.
But some of the materials remain, Tucci said, and could be available to the university when it reopens.
Kasongo has attributed previous fund-raising difficulty to the country's turbulent legacy: "During the war, it was very difficult to convince people that it is a good investment."
The situation in Kinshasa remains fragile. The country held its first free elections in four decades last year. But according to the United Nations, several hundred people were killed over a four-day period last month in Kinshasa during a clash between government security forces and troops of opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba . The UN urged the country's leaders to avoid future clashes.
Framingham High School, where Kasongo is a regular presence as a substitute, also has committed to help in the effort.
"The school district felt this was a worthy and legitimate undertaking," said Richard Walcek , head of the guidance department at Framingham High School. An African-American student group, Emoja, as well as the students in the school's international club are planning to help with fund-raising.
Walcek said student participation would be an educational opportunity.
"We're trying to teach kids about service and leadership and the global community," Walcek said. "The struggle is, it seems, so distant and far away, but the civil war was a major humanitarian disaster, and the country is devastated. This is one of its major universities that's come to a halt because of that."
Kasongo is not the only citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo working from Boston's western suburbs to influence the country's future.
Oscar Kashala , a Westborough oncologist, ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the country, coming in fifth last June. He has said he now is involved in an international campaign to raise support for the Regional Institutes for African Development.
Kasongo said he is hopeful potential donors will take up the cause of rebuilding and supporting his university's mission.
"You have a humanitarian imperative and a sense of urgency to assist the distressed Congolese people," he said. "It has been done for Kosovo; it has been done for other countries. We think we are part of the same mankind."
For more information or to contribute to the American University of Kinshasa Foundation, visit auk-congo.edu or write to PO Box 731, Framingham, MA 01701. John C. Drake can be reached by calling 508-820-4229 or sending e-mail to jdrake@globe.com. 
