| Abstract |
Photographs, correspondence, newsletters, and reports describe the development and expansion of missionary work, school activities, and enrollment of the church-related educational system in the Congo; aspects of native culture and customs of the Congolese; the Congolese Civil War; and the development of a university system within the Congo Republic. Material pertains to Kelly's preparation for missionary work, her Atlantic crossing aboard the S.S. WESTERNLAND, travel and study in Brussels and Antwerp, and her arrival at Wembo Nyama station. Correspondence and newsletters give details of the missionary efforts in education, medicine, and social reform at Tunda, Wembo Nyama, and Lodja. Also contains North Carolina church bulletins, newspaper clippings, and articles and pamphlets on mission work. Photograph albums contain numerous views of missionary homes, missionaries, and native activities. A scrapbook pertains to Kelly's education, church work, and activities with young women. |
| Access restriction | Joyner- No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Lorena Kelly Papers (#208), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Joyner- Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of Miss Lorena Kelly. |
| Biographical note | Lorena Kelly (b. 1903), a native of Iredell County, N.C., received a missionary appointment from the Western Carolina Conference of the Methodist church for educational work in the Congo. She served at Wembo Nyama mission station in the Congo and the Tunda station. Her educational work during the 1940s and 1950s took her to Wembo Nyama, Tunda, Lubondai, and Lodja. Forced to evaculate in late 1960, Miss Kelly did not return permanently to Lodja until 1965, although she did spend some of 1961-1963 at Leopoldville. During her final four years in the Congo Republic, Miss Kelly was director of the Home Economics Department at Congo Polytechnic Institute (CPI). She left the Congo in July, 1969. |
