In the presence of more than 600 people, and delegations from Goma and Uvira, Hilde Kieboom, vice-president of the community, with the city mayor M. Darius Sumuni Mukunda inaugurated a center of the Community of Sant’Egidio in Bukavu, the capital of the Province of South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which will host the activities of the Community in the region.
The house is a space for meetings and solidarity where, through the service of the School of Peace, the welcome for street children and the elderly, we can begin to build a future for the whole city. As Hilde Kieboom pointed out, this center responds to a vision of peace that is born in the spirit of the Community of Sant 'Egidio which has learned to build peace precisely starting from the poorest.
The shape of the building is reminiscent of Noah's Ark, a sign of what the center wants to be in the city: a space of humanity where everyone can find friendship, starting with the poorest.
The center, which will soon be completed, is part of a wider eco-sustainable development project which, through the use of solar panels, will supply electricity to the whole neighborhood and to the nearby Catholic University of Bukavu. A cooperative of young engineers and technicians has already been formed to care for the installation and maintenance of the photovoltaic systems. The center will be a model for environmentally friendly development.
