19-year-old Bernice and her twin brother, Dembu, grew up in Tshala, the capital of Lualaba Province, located in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Like many children in their community, Bernice and Dembu couldn’t continue their education after finishing primary school. “After I completed 6th Grade, our parents couldn’t afford to send us to secondary school. The only solution was to start working in the cobalt and copper mines. Life in the mines was exhausting and dangerous. “I hated it”, continues Bernice, “The male miners were rude and insensitive, they also often mistreated the children”.
But Bernice and Dembu’s lives took an unexpected turn the day they met My Enoch, from Bon Pasteur, who was visiting the mines where they were working: “My mum registered me at Bon Pasteur so that I could be trained. Before any other training started, they first taught our group how to read and write. After that, I did the hairdressing and beauty course.”
For Dembu, the path was just as challenging, but with the support of the Bon Pasteur community development program, he quit working in the mines and enrolled in a welding course. On completion of the training, Dumbu was hired to work for one year in a welding workshop and was then called back by Bon Pasteur to work as a trainer for other young men: “I had also never ever imagined that one day I could move out of my parents’ home and be able to afford to live on my own. With the skills that Bon Pasteur has given me, I can work to earn a living; I will get married one day and be able to raise my own family properly, he explains.
Bernice now owns a salon near the main market in Tshala, where she offers hairdressing and beauty services. “The training by Bon Pasteur really changed not only my life but also that of my younger siblings who are studying for free at the Bon Pasteur school. I am now busy at the salon and no longer have to work in the mines,” she shares proudly. Step inside her salon, and you will see Bernice in her element. With swift and confident hands, she braids cornrows, sews in wigs or applies makeup in just a few minutes.
In Tshala, women have limited access to education and often feel like marriage is their only option for financial security. “A young woman does not have to feel that she must get married so that a man can be the source of everything in her life. Oftentimes, when a young woman gets married and has no education or special skills, she ends up being abused both emotionally and physically” explains Bernice. “I have heard women being told by their husbands, ‘Your job is to sit around and just wait for me to bring the food for you to eat.’ Nowadays, by the time she is getting married, a woman who has additional skills can help her husband to care for their family”. This is one of the reasons why, in addition to running her salon, Bernice trains young girls sent by Bon Pasteur and passes on what she has learned to empower them to gain control over their lives and futures.
In the future, Bernice dreams of expanding her business and training many more young girls and women. Dembu, too, is dreaming big. He wants to become an employer to help other young people escape difficult working conditions and gain their own independence. Through the Bon Pasteur program, the twins have both found their sense of purpose and are eager to give back to their community, empowering young people to unlock new opportunities!
