By Emmanuel Otieno
Projects Coordinator, Overseas Project Manager
It’s been nearly two years since I began working with OPERAnauts Inc, thanks to Joy Bechtler for trusting me with the role of overseas project manager. OPERAnauts’ mission is to use opera as a tool for healing and community building in Kinshasa, where violence and poverty have left deep scars. Their vision is a world where the transformative power of opera helps individuals and societies recover, fostering empathy, resilience and hope. For Congolese musicians this work is vital, it provides training, performance opportunities and resources they would otherwise struggle to access, while investing directly in the local creative economy.
Coordinating across Kenya, the DRC and other time zones meant our first hurdle was designing a structure that kept projects moving despite fragmented schedules and communication gaps. The Ebola outbreak added another layer of complexity. Gathering bans and health risks in Kinshasa and eastern DRC forced cancellations, slowed rehearsals and brought some initiatives to a temporary halt. Through it all, the team’s adaptability and shared commitment have been extraordinary.
One of the most exciting initiatives we’re building is a digital fundraising platform designed to centralize donor management, process online donations, organize campaigns, track volunteer engagement and improve donor stewardship. For Congolese musicians, sustainable funding means more rehearsals, better instruments and the ability to plan beyond the next performance.
This journey has been less about individual roles and more about what a distributed, mission-driven team can achieve together. I’m grateful for the trust, the lessons in cross-border logistics and the chance to support artists whose creativity continues to thrive against the odds.