Educate 130 Children of Rape Victims in DR Congo

When project co-leader Annette Scarpitta traveled to Congo recently to visit this project, she received a fabulous welcome at the Vijana Primary School in Luberizi. An important part of the ceremony was gratitude from a young student whose family has endured great hardship in this volatile environment. We hope you enjoy his video (posted on the main project page) in which he thanks the donors of Global Giving with Annette as his messenger.

Since school has recommenced, our program students have been doing well, but there have been some changes. With donations down in the last academic year, we decided to pare down the number of students in the program by not including the ones who did not succeed in their final examinations. The count is currently at 130 students. This way, we hope to raise funding for additional needs beyond basic tuition fees, such as uniforms, notebooks, and, perhaps an after-school tutoring program, which may reach a pilot stage soon.

Your support is needed now more than ever. We hope in today's tough economic climate that you will consider a few extra dollars to show this special community you care. A monthly pledge of as little as $10 (plus the 15% if you can swing it) can make a world of difference in the lives of struggling Congolese people overlooked by all except for this program.

Kids in our Elimu Boru Primary School in Kiliba Suki are still timid, but unlike when they first joined this program in their stigmatized states, they are now speaking out. They are not yet in a position to help those around them in ways they would like, but they know education is the right path. Here is what some of them had to tell project co-leader Annette on her recent visit about why their education is important:

Etuzi, Josephine, and Bernard like school “for the future.” Etuzi believes that school will help her with work. Both

Etuzi and Josephine aspire to be teachers. 

Dorcas, Oliver, Bukuru, and Lucien want to remain in school to help their families. 

Joseline aspires to obtain a secondary school degree.

Miriam enjoys studying because she believes it will allow her to have a good life.

Bahati also likes school because it will help her have a good life. She would like to help other women as does her role model, [AMCAV Director] Bernadette.

As we gear up for another school year, we hope we can continue to count on generous GlobalGiving donors like you. Donations have been on the low side lately, and we don't want to have to send these kids home for lack of tuition payment! Thanks in advance.