I'm not sure if the story of how Cans for Kids in the Congo got started is a story at all

or rather a series of random conversations and chance meetings that through the workings of the Holy Spirit has come alive.

On my short "bucket list" was

1. a desire to visit Australia;

2. do some kind of missionary work outside the U.S.

Well, there are no Assumptionists in Australia, but there are in Africa, so good bye Australia, hello Africa, I decided to combine both items. Those are my retirement plans so to speak.

I belong to St. Anne/St.Patrick Parish in Fiskdale, MA which is a Catholic community run by the Augustinians of the Assumption (A.A. for short). I sang in the choir with Bob Langlois who happens to be good friends with Fr. Oliver Blanchette. I mentioned my "retirement " plans to Bob and he told me about Fr. Oliver going to Africa at the ripe old age of 83. (Fr. Oliver is now 93 and has been "retired" for 2 years). Shortly afterwards, I met Fr.Oliver when Bob and his wife had taken him to dinner in Sturbridge. I made arrangements to go see Fr.Oliver at Old English Rd. in Worcester, MA where the elder Assumptionists live. In the course of the visit, he mentioned Sal.

I am a co-coordinator at St. Anne for a ministry involving a local homeless shelter. At a coordinators meeting, I met Cathy Banks, who is a coordinator for St. Anthony parish in Dudley. Anyone who knows me, knows when I have a new idea in my head, its all I can talk about. I told her about my "retirement" plans and she said, "You should meet Sal". Turns out, she cooks at Emmanuel House where Sal lives.

Sal turned out to be Fr. Salvator Kasereka Musande, a young Congolese priest who is studying at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. After he completes his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Business, he will return to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) to assume new duties to go along with his pastoral responsibilities.

All this happened back in late spring - early summer of '08. I began to visit Fr. Oliver on a regular basis just to chat and ask questions. In July, St. Anne has a nine day Novena to St. Anne. Sal was a guest clergy one night and I went up to him to introduce myself and he said, "I know who you are. Cathy told me about you". At the end of July, I went to Emmanuel House to visit Sal.

When I met Sal, I was struck by his command of the English language and how patient he was with all my questions. And believe me, I had plenty of questions. Somewhere in the course of the conversation, I asked him to teach me Swahili (formally called Kiswahili), which he graciously agreed to. As I was preparing to leave, I asked how 1 person here in the U.S. (meaning me) could help the life of a Congolese child or family. And he said, educate a child.æ And so I asked the obvious, how much would it take ? I'm thinking $500, $1000.æ He said $50. I said $50 a month ? He said $50 a year.æ I said to him, " If I give you a check right now, when could these kids start school ? He said, "right away, I will call." I wrote a check for $100. The intent at that time was for me to give him $50 a month.æ I figured that was the least I could do for free Swahili lessons.

Well, then the price of gas shot through the roof. And the economy started its decline. So, what to do about the 15 kids I had pledged to help ? Yep, 15 kids. Sal had contacted Fr. Ephrem in the Congo and 15 kids were in school already. The money just had to be there by June 2009, the end of the school year. I knew I had to find a way to raise some of the money.

I deliver mail in Brimfield and pass recycle buckets every trash day. I give my cans/bottles to an older couple living on social security. It's not many, but others on their road also contribute so it helps them out. But it gave me an idea. I told a couple of friends what I had done and they agreed to help. They thought it was a great idea anyway. And Cans for Kids in the Congo (CKC) was born. This was about October. It was fledgling at first, but word started getting around. The list of people that save redeemable recyclables for me is growing daily - numbering about 40 now. I also have 2 businesses that I pick up from regularly - Hooya's and BT's Smokehouse in Brimfield. As of April 11th, the goal was met of providing an education for the first 15 kids, though not by myself as I had originally envisioned.

This might have been the extent of the story. 15 Congolese children going to school every year. Me raising $750 over the course of a year. However, I also belong to a group called the Lay Associates which meets at Emmanuel House once a month. This group is creating a Lay-Religious Alliance with (you guessed it), the Assumptionists. One of the other members that I have become good friends with is Joe Pagano. In conversation, I mentioned my Kids Project and I saw immediate interest in his eyes. Throughhis generosity, I now have posters, a logo and this website. The themeof 1000 Cans - 1 Kid - 1 Year and the Kids in the Congo domain name were the results of Joe and his team at PaganoMedia.

To Joe and Nate and everyone else who helped, I offer a very humble and heartfelt thanks. Your input, your willingness to create a logo and website, to introduce me to the folks who can help make a difference in the lives of Congolese families, has made me feel anything is possible. Sal has likened this project to the analogy of the pebble thrown into the water. It creates a ripple effect - the results we may never realize in our lifetimes. Fr. Oliver's analogy is through the mustard seed growing. Put simply, I like both.

Where do I see this going ? For the 2009-2010 school year, I will have 30 children in school in Butembo - the original 15 from this year plus the new kids. Once the $1500 is paid for these 30 children, the additional money raised is going to be earmarked to add a classroom to an existing school. This costs approximately $3000. Each year I hope to keep the original group and then add 15 more children and contribute to the classroom fund.