Holy Cross College

       ORIGIN AND SCOPE

 

         While begun as a seminary college in 1988 with three students for the Roman Catholic priesthood, the school opened up its courses in 1998 to include lay students who were knocking on the door wanting to get in.  In affiliation with other schools, Holy Cross had been granting degrees (in French "le graduat"---roughly equivalent to a bachelor's degree in the American system) for a number of years, and others saw this as an opportunity to help themselves.  Seminary authorities obliged and soon found that the quality of the education was enriched by the pariticipation of people from different backgrounds and faiths.

        The school was recognized officially by the Congolese Ministry of Education in 2005 and now grants degrees in its own right.  It has been authorized to begin programs in clinical psychology, agro-veterinary, and physical technology.  The clinical psychology program was begun in the fall of the school year 2006-2007 with 18 students enrolled, 10 of these being women. Since then the program has grown and next year the master's program will begin.  In subsequent years it is hoped to begin the sections of agro-veterinary and physical technology.

 

        The program in clinical psychology was conceived as a necessity in this country torn by war where there have been so many victims of rape and families traumatized by looting and the loss of family members killed in various stages of the war over the last ten years, especially in the regions of North and South Kivu.  There is no comparable program in psychology outside of Kinshasa, although there are some programs in psychology which have begun in various universities, but which have other orientations such as education.  There are a few workers in the field here and there, but it is only a small fraction of what is needed.  It is envisioned that after the "graduat" the college will have the "licence" or master's degree program which develops the clinical aspects.  A small study which was conducted which included contacting the hospitals in the area of Lubero, Musienene and Kyondo, as well as a native healer who had an entire village of mentally ill people in Lukanga, indicates that the hospitals are trying to cope with the various mental illnesses and psychological problems but are inadequate to treating them well.  Hence the need for this program.

 

        The agro-veterinary program is obviously aimed at a rural farming area such as the region of North Kivu where the college is.  Helping people raise small animals as well as large, improving the quality of farming methods in the raising of crops, improving the diet of the population are all goals of this program.  The college has 120 acres and already has a dairy herd as well as pigs, sheep, goats, rabbits, ducks, chickens and turkeys.  The farm now serves the religious community of the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, but much of it can easily be jointly used by the community and the agro-veterinary program.  The college is located on the tract of 120 acres belonging to the Crosier community.

 

        The physical technology program is aimed at the development of small technology for water improvement and the generation of electricity as well as the fabrication of various kinds of equipment for the enhancement of life in a rural area.  One example is a brick-making machine.

 

        The philosophy program, which continues as usual, is conceived as a program to help students reflect on who they are, the world they live in and the values they seek.