Livestock for Orphaned Children in Congo

AFCA is very happy to welcome Guy Likonza to our staff in Congo! Guy is an agronomist who has taken his new role as Manager of AFCA’s office in Gemena eagerly, learning at rapid speed and integrating himself with our families well. Guy has hit the ground running and already, he has been:

1. Has set up a training for the next 70 families who will benefit from our livelihoods projects,
2. Has distributed goats to other trained families,
3. Has hired a new man to oversee the grinder project (where families can take corn and cassava to be ground into flour),
4. Helped move our solar vaccine fridge from Tandala to Gemena, to be used in a local clinic

These are some of the tasks he has done in the past four weeks and we are grateful to have found Guy, who has taken each job with a smile and willingness to do well. His plate will be full, we know! He is a willing servant of his people, smiling as he asks questions to learn their stories, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. I liked the way he sat with families, seemingly at ease while asking questions and letting them get to know him a bit, as well. I liked the way he asked me many questions, learning as much as he could in the two weeks I was in town. As my French grew weaker after a day of work and tiredness crept in, he’d give English a shaky try and kept vowing that he’ll learn it better soon. Somehow, I don’t doubt he’ll make that happen!

We have great plans to accomplish much more in northwest Congo and it will be great to do them with this man leading the charge from Gemena.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

Before I was selected as a beneficiary for the AFCA project, my life was very difficult. I have eight children of my own and I raised my late sister’s six children, as well.  My husband passed away in 2011. At that time, we were spending about 1800 Congolese Francs per day for food (.90 cents) because we simply didn’t have more. Life was so hard!

Then, AFCA accepted me as a beneficiary! That is when everything changed. First, I received training in gardening and in raising animals. When I was ready, I was given rabbits, gardening tools, seeds, and a water filter. I planted the seeds and after the rains, I had corn, peanuts and vegetables and we started eating better. The rabbits started reproducing and I gave back a pair to the project, as I had agreed that I would do when I signed a contract with AFCA. I was careful with the breeding of the rabbits and soon, I had many. We ate some, along with the vegetables we grew. The extra vegetables, we sold. For our entire family, we now eat well and have 3500 Congolese Francs per day (about $1.75) to spend on extra items like sugar, flour, tea, milk, and other things we don’t grow.

The extra rabbits have become a source of income for us and we were able to build a house where we all can stay together. Now, we are so happy! We built a small house which we rent as a clinic so that other people can get help and we have income from that. Bless you all for loving us!

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.