A ballroom turns into classroom of confidence
At the elegant Hotel Saphir on Saturday 20 October 2025, fifteen teenagers from Brazzaville’s Orphelinat Béthanie pushed open ballroom doors usually reserved for corporate banquets. They had come for a practical conversation about self-esteem, guided by educators, a former legislator and a veteran journalist.
- A ballroom turns into classroom of confidence
- Home-grown mentors share life lessons
- Tools that build esteem and goals
- State support and corporate allies
- Early impacts measured in discipline and grades
- Behind-the-scenes glimpse of hospitality jobs
- Ripple effects beyond Brazzaville
- Numbers that convince donors
- Hotline keeps the spark alive
The workshop, part of Béthanie’s long-running resilience programme, was led by French volunteer coach Nathalie Miranville from Aslav and the Catholic Cooperation Delegation, with Sister Marlène Loukombo watching each exercise and cheering every shy smile that crossed a participant’s face.
Home-grown mentors share life lessons
Testimonies from former National Assembly member José Cyr Ebina and ex-High Council adviser turned TV host Joachim Mbanza gave the afternoon a distinctly local flavour, turning abstract theories into relatable life trajectories punctuated by obstacles, new chances and patient self-analysis.
Miranville began with a simple mirror exercise. Each teen stated one quality they appreciated in themselves before their reflection. Some whispered “creativity”, others “patience”. The room, first uneasy, warmed as applause followed every answer, reinforcing the lesson that identity is defined from within.
Tools that build esteem and goals
“We exist beyond the label orphan,” Miranville reminded them, citing UNICEF studies showing boosted academic results when children build positive self-concepts. She plans to replicate the module in Ouesso and Dolisie early next year, partnering with parish youth centres already expressing interest.
Ebina then stepped forward, coat off, sleeves rolled, to describe his childhood in Makélékélé district. “Government bursaries opened doors, yet mentors kept them open,” he said, urging authorities to complement existing social-affairs grants with transitional homes for teens leaving institutional care.
State support and corporate allies
His appeal aligns with the Ministry of Social Affairs’ 2023-2027 action plan, which earmarks funding for community shelters and apprenticeship pathways, according to official documents consulted by Les Dépêches de Brazzaville. Officials present nodded but did not comment publicly.
Mbanza, microphone in hand, switched the mood to storytelling. The journalist recalled sweeping studios at Radio Congo before earning airtime. “Comparison is the thief of joy,” he told the youths, encouraging them to track their own progress rather than the highlight reels of classmates.
Early impacts measured in discipline and grades
Psychologist Françoise Ngoma, who monitors Béthanie residents, welcomed the message. She reports a 30 percent drop in discipline incidents among attendees of past self-esteem sessions, a figure corroborated by the orphanage’s monthly dashboards shared with the local child-protection committee.
Beyond speeches, the teens practised goal-setting using coloured cards. Each wrote one objective for the next six months: finish secondary school, audition for a dance troupe, start a small soap-making venture. Cards were sealed in envelopes that will be reopened in March.
Sister Loukombo says such tactile rituals make abstract promises tangible. Her team already integrates entrepreneurship basics into evening study halls, supported by a micro-grant from the Congolese Red Cross and private donors who visit during holiday seasons.
Behind-the-scenes glimpse of hospitality jobs
Hotel Saphir management offered the conference room free of charge, framing the gesture as corporate social responsibility. General manager Alain Ndinga noted that hospitality schools rely on confident recruits. “Investing in their sense of worth means investing in our future staff,” he smiled.
The afternoon closed with a guided tour of the hotel’s kitchens, laundry and rooftop pool. For many participants it was their first look behind the scenes of formal employment, sparking questions about internships and the entry-level certificates demanded by the sector.
Ripple effects beyond Brazzaville
While numbers appear small, Béthanie director Sister Fanny Ngatsé insists ripple effects stretch far beyond Brazzaville. Former residents now studying in Oyo and Pointe-Noire frequently return to mentor newcomers, embodying the peer-to-peer dynamic championed by this latest seminar.
Professor Jean-Claude Mpassi, education sociologist at Marien Ngouabi University, says targeted self-esteem work can boost national productivity in the long term. He references recent World Bank data indicating youth empowerment programmes reduce drop-out rates by up to 17 percent in comparable contexts.
For the teenagers, however, success remains immediate: walking back to the orphanage standing a little straighter. Fifteen envelopes now rest in a locked drawer, each containing a dream and the quiet confidence that it deserves to come true.
Numbers that convince donors
Local NGO Terre de Compassion, which finances school kits for Béthanie, was represented by project coordinator Mireille Okoua. She confirmed that pupils who attended last year’s self-discovery camp improved their final-term averages by an impressive 1.6 points on a 10-point scale.
Okoua added that stable self-esteem often translates into tangible savings for guardians. “When a teenager believes in the future, he takes better care of textbooks, misses fewer classes and requires less remedial tutoring,” she explained, noting that household education expenses fell by 12 percent in her pilot sample.
Hotline keeps the spark alive
Before leaving, the organisers distributed a hotline number run by the National Child Protection Directorate, offering counseling and apprenticeship information. Posters with the toll-free digits now hang in Béthanie’s dormitory corridors, ensuring the conversation sparked at Hotel Saphir continues long after the applause faded.
