10 Year Anniversary of Active Direct Help
2000: We participated in free medical camps in Nigeria and shipped a container of humanitarian aid to Guinea which we distributed to the refugees of Sierra Leone and Liberia there, as well as to the neediest people in Conakry.
2001: We distributed corn to the most vulnerable people in East Zambia who had lost their crops in a flood and suffered hunger.
2002 - 2003: We shipped our next container to Cameroon and distributed the aid to different institutions in Douala and Yaoundé. We were also able to help the Pygmies who are slowly being forced to settle at the border of the rainforest which is being cut down and thus they are losing their livelihood as hunters.
2003 - 2004: After the devastating civil war in DR Congo we sent our third container to Kinshasa and distributed the aid to the needy people and institutions there.
2005: For health reasons we spent one year in South Africa where we helped with local projects and also distributed educational materials in schools.
2006 marks the beginning of our work with orphans in Kinshasa. We brought them food and medicine, bought two hectares of land along with simple farming tools for them and started a child-sponsorship program in Europe for their regular support.
2007 - 2010: We supported 100 orphans with food and medical help and developed an agricultural project as a ‘self-help project’, planting fruit trees and hundreds of pineapples which are multiplying well by now and bring in the first financial income for the children.
2008 - 2010: We also paid the school fees of the children who couldn’t afford to go to school until that time so that now all 100 children go to school.
2010: We laid the foundation for their own school which is currently being built.
Two of our team members are slowly turning over this project to the local organization with which we had started it and make sure that the children are well cared for. This enables us to start a second similar project in another part of Kinshasa. For this purpose we are looking for a proper piece of land where we are planning to build a school for another 100 underprivileged children to give them an education which they would otherwise not receive since the poor people can’t afford to pay the school fees. Later we would also like to give the older children training in simple crafts like sewing, carpentry work etc. There are many possibilities to expand the project – it just depends on the support we receive.
How you can support the project
For these plans to become a reality we urgently need financial support – for the piece of land, the school building including the running expenses of the school and a better vehicle for the rough roads. Since we are personally doing this work voluntary and fulltime, living in Congo, we also need support for the expenses of our team and the local helpers which all goes to help the project. You can support the overall project or sponsor a child.
Besides the humanitarian aid part of our work there is another important job, which is not so easily visible or measurable but is also very important. All people, especially in hard hit areas, need encouragement, motivation and counsel on how to best cope with the difficulties they face. It is also very important for us to find the right kind of local coworkers and to train them so they can one day take over our work. In order to achieve this goal we hold public meetings, give seminars and offer personal counseling.
We are thankful for any support, big or small, and will invest it into what you designate it for. With your bank transaction to our account below please specify what you want us to use it for: piece of land, school building, training and education, sponsor a child, vehicle, team etc. Thank you very much!