Visual art is now Amani's passion

By Jean Baptiste Mirindi, Senior Communication Officer

Amani, aged 13, is a student in 6th form at Nyamukubi primary school. He was elected "Young Champion" in the game’s competition organized by the Catholic coordination of schools in the territory of Kalehe for the pupils of the elementary school of this coordination, some of which are supported by World Vision in its ANCP project.

At first, Amani was not enthusiastic about the drawing course and had difficulty understanding the techniques and tools to be used in drawing. "I tried to follow the teacher's instructions, but I couldn't do it properly. I felt frustrated and discouraged every time I didn't succeed at a given task," explains Amani.

As the months went by, Amani's failures began to pile up and he had lost more and more self-confidence. "I wondered why I wasn't able to draw like the other students and I was afraid of failing miserably at drawing,"he says. Despite this, he continued to do his best and work hard to improve his drawing skills. His courage was motivated by his confidence that one day he would overcome his difficulties and realize his dream of becoming an accomplished artist.

It's hard to imagine his incredible talent for drawing after more than 2 years of finding failures in drawing course.  He loved to spend hours drawing everything around him, whether it was his school, the goat he kept, or even imaginary landscapes to increase his perfection in this field, but to no avail. "Since the third form, I'd doodle little drawings by looking at pictures in newspapers or from my colleagues who were in sixth form, but it was difficult for me to produce a good drawing," recounts Amani.

The following year, Amani began asking the school principal for flip charts to practice drawing the images found in the textbooks and on the posters donated by World Vision through its ANCP project. As time went by, he began to work harder and practice regularly. He also asked his teacher for advice on how to improve his drawings. Gradually, he saw improvements and began to feel more confident. "I realized that regular practice and perseverance were the key to success in any field," he confirms.

One day, while sitting in his school playground, Amani had a crazy idea: "What if I drew our school myself?  He took out his flit chart and set to work. For hours, he meticulously sketched the outlines of the buildings, the smallest details of the playground, and even the gate and flag that flew at the school.

When his teacher, Pierre B., passed by, he was amazed by Amani's talent. He found that his pupil had become truly gifted when he saw the magnificent work he had produced, and gave it to his school as a gift.

But that wasn't all. One day, Amani had the idea of drawing the former Archbishop of Bukavu in Eastern DRC, and when the World Vision staff passed by, Amani was proud to present his drawing to him in front of his classmates.

To demonstrate his ability to draw, Amani had the courage to draw his teacher. He drew him from behind, standing in front of the blackboard, explaining a lesson to the class. And when his teacher saw the drawing, he was once again impressed by his pupil's talent. "You're a real artist, Amani, you could do great things in your life", he told him. His teacher confirms that sometimes Amani draws better than he does, but that doesn't stop him from succeeding in other courses in class.

From that day on, Amani became famous in his school, and everyone knew of his talent and considered him a prodigy. But for Amani, drawing remained above all a passion and an asset for supervising his classmates during group work. 

Amani, who dreams of becoming a great electrician, believes that his talent for drawing will help him in his life. "Drawing is an art, and this will help me to save my parents and teachers who mentored me," he concludes.