Challenges
Due to the limitations of the current facilities and resources, a maximum of 37 children at the age of 1 week to 18 years can be taken care of. We offer to each child a bed, food, clothing as well as medical and affective support. One of our challenges is therefore to be able to offer food everyday to each child. Indeed resources are limited… Any help, financial, in food (milk powder, flour, etc) or clothing is always welcome.
Nevertheless at the moment the main challenge for the orphanage is to take care of kids when they exceed the age of 4 and adapt to their changing needs – like school attendance. Currently the orphanage is trying to reintegrate the children to other members of their family if such can be identified (uncles, grand-parents, etc). Unfortunately in most of the cases the family cannot provide for proper nutrition or pay for schooling, so the children are worse off when they are back to their families. In some cases the children die after they leave the orphanage. Moreover, as these families are usually far away from our orphanage, it is difficult for us to find time and means to follow correctly the reintegration and, if necessary, to take back the child.
Project SPONSORSHIP – ONGOING
SPONSOR AN ORPHAN – OCCASIONAL OR CONTINUOUS SUPPORT:
In order to cover the essential needs of the children we welcome in our orphanage, we sometimes receive help from individuals or organizations. We have received occasional food donations from people of the region as well as from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in April 2010, and clothes from employees of PricewaterhouseCoopers Switzerland (PwC) in June 2010.
You can also help us by sponsoring a child:
1. – either with an occasional financial donation;
2. – or with an ongoing monthly financial support.
These donations (that are fixed by you, but would ideally be of at least 25 USD, or 20 euros, or 25 CHF per month per child) will have a considerable impact in improving the day to day life of the children. All the support we will receive will be used exclusively and completely for the well being of the orphans. Not a single cent of your donation will be used to cover administrative fees. This amount covers education, health, clothing and food costs.
Project BUNGULU – ONGOING
CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW SCHOOL AND ORPHANAGE:
Due to the recent and ongoing conflict, the number of orphans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is estimated by UNICEF to exceed 4 million. Unfortunately they depend on members of the larger family or on charity, as there are no sufficient governmental structures to welcome them in Eastern Congo.
Our objective was to start until 2016 the construction of another facility which should serve as accommodation for approximately 50 orphans up to the age of 18 years. In addition, this facility should contain a school to provide for proper education for the orphans as well as approximately 400 children from the areas surrounding the complex. Thanks to the kind contributions of our donors we have started the construction of the new school in 2013, three years ahead of our aim!
The plot for this facility has been provided, a cost proposal has been established by a local architect and we are at the moment in the process to request funds to continue the financing of this project.
On May 13th 2013 the construction of the new school started. Two classrooms (classrooms 1 and 2) have been completed on August the 20st 2013.
On September the 6th 2014 we received additional funds that allowed us to continue the construction of our new school. On November the 20st 2014, and despite of the strong insecurity in Beni, we concluded the construction of 2 additional classrooms (classrooms 3 and 4).
On June the 24th 2015 the construction of the latrines for the whole school started. After discovering termites in the area it was decided in August 2015 to change the construction material from wood to concrete. The 10 latrines were finished on November 5th 2015.
On November the 24th 2015 the construction of the administration section began and was concluded on May the 10th 2017. The delay in building this section was both because of difficulties to send money in an effective and safe way to DRC and due to the insecurity in the region.
On September the 9th 2017 the construction of 2 new classrooms started (classrooms 5 and 6) and was finished on November the 8th 2017.
On April the 19th 2018 the construction resumed for classrooms 7 and 8 and was finished on December the 7th 2018.
As of January 2019 we have started the construction of classrooms 9 and 10 as well as of the library and they were completed by July the 22nd 2019 thanks to the donations received in 2017 and 2018.
Now we are at over 75% of our aim to build 12 classrooms, a library, a meeting room, some administrative rooms, the toilets and a playground, with 10 classrooms, administrative offices and toilets already finished.
We thank all our generous sponsors for their support. A special thanks goes to Ruth Dineen for her constant support since so many years now, to the couple Lecanda-Vignal, to the Fondation Gertrude Hirzel, the Commune de Puplinge, the Commune de Lancy, the Commune de Bernex and the Commune de Collonge-Bellerive for their repetitive support, to the Commune de Grand Saconnex, the Commune de Presinge, the Commune de Perly-Certoux, the Commune de Bardonnex, the Commune d’Avusy, the Commune de Veyrier and to the Institut Robin des Bois that allowed us to move forward with the construction of our new school!
You too can participate in this ambitious project that would change the life of many children! Have a look under “Your support” to discover how to support the construction of our new orphanage and school.
Hereunder you will find the progress reports for phases 1, 2 and 3 of the school construction (in French):
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Project EXT2 – DONE – Closed on November 2012
EXTENSION OF CURRENT FACILITIES:
A new small building of 3 rooms has been constructed and is finished… It comprises a new kitchen, a refectory and a playing area. It now allows all the children to eat their warm meal on a table with forks and knifes!
Project EXT1 – DONE – Closed on February 2011
EXTENSION OF CURRENT FACILITIES:
Until February 2011, the orphanage was equipped to accommodate a maximum of 25 children up to 4 years old. In order to enable the orphanage to take care of more and older children, an additional building was made available and equipped with beds, mosquito nets, hygienic facilities etc.. In addition, this facility enables the orphanage to recover children from families who can no longer guarantee their well being.
The cost of equipping the new building to enable us to accommodate another 12 children amounted to approximately USD 1‘600 and was entirely covered by private donations.
Project FOR – DONE – Closed on June 2011
HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF FOR A BETTER FOLLOW UP WHEN REINTEGRATING CHILDREN TO OTHER FAMILIES:
As of May 2010, two individuals engaged for the first time in an ongoing financial support for the orphanage. The monthly contributions enabled us to employ further personal for the orphanage. This allowed us to provide more attention to the children in the orphanage. In addition, since September 2010 one sister was able to follow an education in Psychology at the University in order to better understand the impact of loneliness of the orphans as well as better managing the process of adoption and reintegration of children to families. In June 2013 the sister succeeded and obtained a bachelor degree and is since then doing an “internship” of one year at the orphanage to put in practice all the theoretical knowledge she learned at University.
This gave us the possibility of continuously evaluating the reintegration of the children and enable us to act should the child’s well being be threatened.