By Dick Wheelock | Project Co-ordinator
Every child at the Hands Around the World-supported Chez Papa Geoff orphanage in Affame has a unique story, and ultimately our work with the orphanage is about caring for the needs of each individual and nurturing their potential.
One story we’d like to share with you is that of Antoine. His father worked as a car mechanic and injured his arm. Within a month he had died of this injury, leaving a wife and five children, including Antoine who at 13 is the eldest child. His mother subsequently abandoned all the children, leaving them with their grandmother who lives in a house with only two rooms.
Antoine entered CPG orphanage at the suggestion of CPG’s Local Manager, Dieu Donne, to relieve Antoine’s grandmother and to ensure that he continued his secondary education. Antoine felt a great sense of responsibility towards his siblings and worried that, as the eldest child, he should be earning something to help his grandmother financially as she has almost no income. This responsibility weighed heavily on him, and Dieu Donne felt that he would not thrive without some outside financial support for his grandmother.
Everyone in Affame agreed that if he started work now, he would end up doing menial work and so long term, his education was paramount.
Hands Around the World now supports Antoine’s siblings so that his grandmother can feed them properly, and Antoine can focus on his schooling through the support provided by CPG, free of the burdensome worry about the situation of his grandmother and siblings. This outcome will undoubtedly improve Antoine’s career opportunities and earning potential when he finishes education, substantially mitigating the life-long impacts his challenging circumstances would otherwise likely have had. He is a bright, conscientious student and should do well.
Antoine is just one of the many children at CPG whose choices for the future are broadened and whose lives are enriched through the kindness and generosity of Hands Around the World’s supporters - thank you.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
