A lot has happened in Congos Børn since November 2023.
We are overwhelmed and grateful for the great support and backing. We have been able to feel it right from the start of our association, but after our event on 12 November 2023, things have only gotten even stronger.
Many people have started to notice Congos Børn and the great work we do together with our sister organization in Kinshasa, VIGALEX. Via profits from the event and donations, we have managed to pay for one more plot in Kinshasa. We know that building an orphanage is hard work and takes a long time.
The boards in Denmark and Congo are working very hard to create a better future for street children in DR Congo. We are creating a network where we can gain more knowledge about NGO work, more knowledge about funds and more knowledge about running an orphanage. Our strength is the close communication between Congos Børn and VIGALEX. Our strength is also that we have no doubts about our purpose.
VIGALEX and Congos Børn complement each other very well. Two countries on separate continents - but have managed to do voluntary work together and achieve really good results through the close collaboration. It can be felt in both teams. Together with VIGALEX, we have chosen to rent a house in Kinshasa, where we can create security for the street children we have supported every Saturday since April last year.
In the month of December, Congos Børn have collected money by selling art posters, African clothes and bags,
by having a stall at a Christmas market and through social media. The purpose was to be able to hold a Christmas and New Year's party for the street children in Kinshasa. Our sister organization's tasks were to organize the party, and it was a great success.
For most of the children who attended the party, this experience was a dream come true. They were given the opportunity to sit at the table and be served a feast, and before that they had been given the opportunity to get new clothes and shoes. They danced and partied. It was a moving experience for everyone.
December 25 was a historic day for the street children we support. On this very day, they - with empty eyes, hungry bellies and bare toes - used to have to look at everyone else celebrating Christmas with their family. This year they were also invited to the party; this year they were guests. It was a day they still talk about. How nice it is to have been able to give them some good memories.
But reality hit hard already the day after the party. Several of them had their new clothes and new shoes stolen. They were back on the streets in their ordinary everyday life, which was full of fear, theft, insecurity and uncertainty. But luckily we could already open the doors to the children in our rented house on 5 January 2024. Our VIGALEX Home currently has 6 children in the house and 2 adults. We have room for 15 children, but have chosen to take the children in quietly. We have rented the house until we build our orphanage.
Moving street children from the street to a home presents many challenges. They were excited and nervous. They could not believe that they were chosen by anyone, so they are constantly on the defensive. The children have lived in the house for two months now. Just in those two months, a lot has happened. We see happy, smiling children. They open up more and more about their past, their families and the great tragedies they have been involved in. They dare to tell more and more about themselves because we have succeeded in creating a trusting contact with them. They know that VIGALEX is their home.
Our children are homeschooled until the summer holidays. We will first help them to get used to a life in a home and in a community, where they must learn to take each other into account. We will also prepare them for school life. Many of our children have not gone to school for many years. Home education means that we know what academic level they are at and how best to integrate them into a school environment. From being alone on the street left to fend for themselves, they now live in a home with two adults. They live in the house where they learn a lot of basic things like saying thank you, saying sorry, asking politely, taking a bath, talking and explaining yourself rather than fighting.
By Gina Nzeba Tshiswaka Hagebro, Congos Børn | 04. march 2024 | News
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