DR Congo

Category: DR Congo

Change For Life at Living Springs Church

May 15, 2012 by Katie

Last week I had the privilege of sharing at Living Springs Church in Garden Grove. This church was extremely special for me to share at, as it was the “birth place” of Empowering Lives International. ELI’s founder, Don Rogers, served at this church when God called him to start the organization, and Living Springs continues to remain a strong supporter of ELI’s work in Africa.

Being with junior high and high school students is always encouraging, and we had an incredible time of discovering together what it means to be a “light” in a dark world. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus calls us the “light of the world”. Will we be a passive light, much like a nightlight, that just sits on the wall and shines dimly only for the comfort of ourselves? Or will we go out as a light-saber that actively brings light to dark places and courageously contends for the sake of Christ? (more…)

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Teacher says…

April 27, 2012 by dianahom

Mrs. Mushengenzi Zihalirwa with her second grade students

We asked our second grade teacher, Mrs. Mushengenzi Zihalirwa, from our school in DR Congo why she likes teaching at ELI’s School. Here are some of the things she said:

ELI gives the poorest of the poor children an opportunity to study.
We provide both intellectual and spiritual education
We hope that children and their families will know the love of God
Our school gives hope to the children, especially since the children come from poor backgrounds and many of their parents would not be able to pay for their school fees.
An education will help children be able to contribute to society in a useful way.
As teachers we receive training and attend regular seminars to ensure good quality education with results in the success of our children.
Our teaching methods create positive interaction between students and teachers which encourages students to participate in the lessons.
By providing food (porridge), ELI helps reinforce active participate of students during class because they are not tired.
We provide a good spiritual environment which is not only present in our school, but impacts the community and neighborhood; this makes parents want to send children to our school.

Thank you to everyone who is supporting our school!

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Celebrate International Womans Day

March 8, 2012 by Micah

Rural women constitute one-fourth of the world’s population. They are leaders, decision-makers, producers, workers, entrepreneurs and service providers. Their contributions are vital to the well-being of families and communities, and of local and national economies.

Yet rural women’s rights, contributions and priorities have been largely overlooked. Rural women have also been hard hit by the economic and financial crisis, volatile food prices and export-driven agriculture. They need to be fully engaged in efforts to shape a response to these inter-connected crises and in decision-making at all levels.

Now Is the Time to Act

Rural women are key agents of change. Their leadership and participation are needed to shape responses to development challenges and recent crises.

Women are central to the development of rural areas: they account for a great proportion of the agricultural labour force, produce the majority of food grown, especially in subsistence farming, and perform most of the unpaid care work in rural areas. It is critical that their contributions be recognized and that their voices be heard in decision-making processes at all levels of governments, and within rural organizations.

Consider this story and learn how you can get involved today.

Here are a few photos from our Communications Director, Micah Albert, from over the last 5 years.

Kenya

South Sudan

DRC

Tanzania

South Sudan

Kenya

Bukavu, DRC

South Sudan

DRC

South Sudan

Global Data

70 percent of the developing world’s 1.4 billion extremely poor live in rural areas. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly one-third of these, while South Asia is now home to about half.

In 2010, 925 million people were chronically hungry, of whom 60 percent were women.

Agriculture provides a livelihood for 86 percent of rural women and men, and employment for about 1.3 billion smallholder farmers and landless workers, 43 percent of whom are women.
An estimated two-thirds of the 400 million poor livestock keepers worldwide are women.

The burden of unpaid care work is substantial. Globally there are 884 million people without safe drinking water, 1.6 billion people without reliable sources of energy, 1 billion people who lack access to roads, 2.6 billion people without satisfactory sanitation facilities, and 2.7 billion people who rely on open fires and traditional cooking stoves. Rural women carry most of the unpaid work burden due to lack of infrastructure and services.

In rural areas of the developing world, excluding China, 45 percent of women aged 20–24 were married or in union before the age of 18, compared to 22 percent of urban women.

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The Difference Five Cents Can Make

January 30, 2012 by Katie

Hillside pre-schoolers giving their offering.

As the Community Engagement Coordinator for ELI, I have the privilege of encouraging others to play a part of God’s Kingdom work around the world. It is so beautiful to see the body of Christ at work, sharing each other’s burdens, and working to be the hands and feet of Jesus. This past Fall I was able to share the story of a child at our ELI school in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the preschoolers at Hillside Community Church in Rancho Cucamonga.

With pictures and stories, the kids and I journeyed through a day-in-the-life of Aganze Babike, as he walked to the ELI school, ate his lunch, played during PE, did his chores at home, and helped take care of his siblings. The Hillside kids learned that Aganze, like many children in the slum community in Bukavu, DR Congo, often suffer from malnutrition, as their parents have a hard time providing consistent food. A majority of them receive their only meal of the day at the ELI school. According to our ELI DR Congo director, it costs five cents for each meal we serve to the kids. I encouraged these precious preschool children to know that even though they live far away from Africa, they can still make a genuine difference in the lives of children in DR Congo! I passed out cups, and invited them to collect change to support their friends like Aganze. Three months later, I was blown away to find that the preschool children at Hillside raised almost $1,000! Wow!

(more…)

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Bashilwango

January 27, 2012 by dianahom

One of the many things that I admire about the children of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is their resilience. These children face such hardship that no child should ever have to face, and yet, they still smile, they still dance and they press on. I’ve never met so many children who have the determination and hope to become “something”. These children ask for prayer to finish school so they can find a job after graduation that will help become self-sustainable and help their family and community.

Meet Bashilwango.

He’s 9 years old and attends our second grade class. At first glance, you would not think he is 9 years old. He’s short and small for his age, but, then again, I think most of the children in DRC are because of lack of nourishment in their little bodies. Bashilwango is one of 9 siblings, all ranging from 1 ½ to 19 years old. When I met him at our school, he was so shy and spoke softly. When I asked him questions, he looked to the ground and I could barely hear his answers.

Me: Do you like going to school?

(more…)

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Photo of the Day

January 9, 2012 by Micah

Load carriers outside of Bukavu, South Kivu, DR Congo. (photo: Micah Albert) Learn more about these woman in an upcoming documentary film, “Heavy Loads” – Eliane Beeson

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Photo of the Day

December 30, 2011 by Micah

Students at the ELI school in Bukavu, DR Congo. (Photo: Micah Albert)

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Cultivate Winter Issue has been Published

November 23, 2011 by Micah

Check your mailbox this week for our newest edition of Cultivate Magazine – it’s hot off the press. It’s full of great stories, images, writing, and great ways for you to get involved this holiday season and help those that ELI serves in Africa. Click here to see the magazine.

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