Helping the Children of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
“The Democratic Republic of Congo has made significant strides towards universal access to primary education over the past few decades. The net attendance rate has increased from 52% in 2001 to 78% in 2018, but 7.6 million children aged 5-17 are still out of school.” -UNICEF
“A Congolese child born today can expect to achieve only 37% of their potential, compared to what would have been possible if they had benefited from a full, quality schooling experience.” That same source indicates that “The quality of education is extremely poor. In terms of learning and achievement, the primary completion rate is only about 67 %, and an estimated 86% of 10-year-olds in DRC are in learning poverty, meaning they cannot read and understand a simple text.” - World Bank
Our mission is to help alleviate that. Through our first initiative, we looked to create an opportunity for the children of Mushaki, DRC that may have been out of reach before. With a new school structure, our goal is that they can reach their potential by earning an education through primary which will aid them in gaining admission to a secondary school.
After seeing the school and meeting the students, we realized that many of them face challenges we didn’t consider. And even with those challenges, we met students with dreams of becoming doctors, teachers, farmers, government ministers and even the President!
We look forward to developing our future projects to benefit the lives of children in North and South Kivu Provinces with the help of all stakeholders. We are currently raising funds and working on our next initiative— building and supporting an orphanage in Mushaki.
Helping those when it counts the most.
Dan visited DRC in 2021 in hopes of accomplishing his lifelong goal of trekking into the mountains and visiting with the endangered mountain gorillas. In addition to the trek, his guide Christian, of Congo Local Guides, asked if he would be willing to visit some of Goma’s overflowing orphanages and possibly make a small donation. Aside from visiting orphanages, Christian arranged for a visit the rural village of Mushaki.
Part of his time in Mushaki was spent visiting a local school. Unfortunately, the school was in severe disrepair— missing walls, lacking school supplies, and had far less seating than students in attendance. The scene goes from disappointing to heartbreaking when you factor in the dirty clothes and bare feet of the children attending this school. Then and there he knew he had to help in some way.
Mushaki is a rural farming and herding village high in the hills of Eastern DR Congo. It is also well within territory that is home to some of the 120 rebel groups currently operating within the country.
Let’s meet up in real life. Keep an eye on our site for updates for in person fundraising events.
Every dollar counts! A $5 donation is nearly the equivalent to a week’s pay in the DR Congo.
A small amount makes a big difference!