Pauline has worked at a BCArc home in Lenox for the past 10 years. During this time she helped build an elementary school in her home village of Bikie, Congo Brazzaville. She has helped some 15 students from her country to study in the United States, many of them attending Berkshire Community College after learning English at the International Language Institute in Northampton. Last year she led an effort to ship 26 bicycles to the village for residents to help carry water and food, or travel to school (ages 10 and up).
She is currently raising money for a contractor to build a water well in Bikie village.
She and her siblings visited the village a few years ago, to keep ties with the home of their youth. “I was dismayed to see that nothing has changed in the village since we were young. The children walked more than four miles to attend the nearest schools. Many of them have dropped school because of these challenges. We also were surprised to see no running water, the villagers had to go to the rivers to get water. The burden was very severe on the women who needed to get water for cooking and washing — after hours of work in the fields. So my siblings and I made a plan to help.”
She hopes to partner with BCArc to send a van to her village. “Well water and a van would go a long way toward decreasing the mortality rate in the village,” she said in her French accent. “A van would save many lives. For example, pregnant women cannot walk 20 miles to the nearest medical facility, so they give birth in the village.”
10 Years at BCArc
“I work at a very challenging house,” Pauline says when asked about BCArc. “I’ve developed very deep relationships with the individuals. I care greatly for them. During COVID I never missed even one shift.”
“I should add that the relationship works both ways. I get a lot from caring for the individuals who live in the home. They have enriched my life as well. I work there because I feel it is my responsibility to help people. But I also know they have helped me get through personally challenging times.”
Pauline’s sister poses with children from Bikie, where she and her siblings helped build a school. On right, a photo of one of the 26 bicycles Paulene helped ship to the Congo so the villagers can retrieve water easier and the older children can travel the four miles to school every day.
