They deserve to be known

Awhile back, I came across the name Trésor Yenyi.  He wrote the book: "Journey to the Heart of Darkness: Remembering Congo’s Forgotten".  A must read for those that have or are adopting from the DR Congo.  A must read for those that have an interest about the Congo due to Zalen being Congolese.   It is what he came from.  Trésor is Congolese himself and moved to the states when he was 21.

He wrote this about his book:
  While I was actually living in the Congo, I did not realize how much the country had fallen into the pit of a tragedy. When I came to Joplin, the easy access to information helped me realize the depth of what was going on, in every corner of my homeland. Statistics, numbers, and news reports, all educated me but I knew there was more than that. Behind these scary numbers, there are people. They have faces. They have names. Each story is unique and deserves to be told and deserves to be known. That is what led me to write this book. I do not claim to be a professional writer, nor do I claim to have all the answers to the problems of this world. I write from my heart more than anything else. I take it as my duty as a human being who witnessed the suffering of others to write about it and call others to action.---Yenyi, Trésor  (2010-10-06). Journey to the Heart of Darkness: Remembering Congo's Forgotten .

Though I have not met Trésor personally, I have friends that have.  Recently he did the mission service at my college roommates church for VBS.  He attended Ozark Christian College in Joplin, a sister school of Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly that I attended.  I am telling you all of this so you will know this guy is legit!  His organization Mwangaza is doing some amazing things in the DR Congo.

Please take a few minutes to read the rest of this post and allow these children to be known.  Allow them to have a voice for the next few minutes.

GOAL: Sponsor 21 children for school

14 have already been sponsored - 7 more need to be known!

Mwangaza International helps victims of war have a second chance in life by helping them return to school. They help former child soldiers, rape survivors, orphans, refugees and others who have been affected by the war receive an education. They believe that sending them to a decent school opens a window of opportunity that they would not have without your help.

The cost varies depending on the location of the children and the level of education. the figure below include the tuition, school supplies and uniform for a school year.  That is an entire year of education!


1. Bideka: $ 140 per year (high school)
2. Bukavu: $ 150 per year (high school)
3. Goma: $ 70 per year (primary school)
4. Kinshasa: $200 per year (primary school)

The Goal for the campaign is to sponsor the 21 kids in the program for a total cost of $2,650. Any excess fund will go to adding more kids to the program!  Will you help my friend Tresor in meeting his goal?

Currently they still need to raise the funds for 7 more children.  Will you please take a moment to meet four of these incredible children that still need a sponsor?  There are also three victims of sex trafficking in Kinshasa that need to be sponsored that are not pictured below.  Their stories are personal.  If you choose to sponsor them and want to know more, Trésor will e-mail you personally their name and their story.  Just leave a note to him when you donate.


 

Meet Vangi....

Vangi is 10 years old. He is the the youngest of a family of 6. His family fled from the Sake region because of war in the North Kivu region. The displaced family lost everything. they struggle to survive, the parents are unable to feed their children or send them to school. Vangi needs $70 to go to school this year. Would you like to help Vangi return to school?

Meet Chance.... 

Chance is 9 years old.  She lives in the Lac Vert area near Goma. Her parents are displaced by the conflict in the eastern congo and are not able to send her back to school. Chance has a dream and education can open doors for her future. Please help send Chance back to school!

Meet Delphin.... Update: Thank you! Delphin has been sponsored!!

The handsome young man you is Delphin...his last name is Bahati. Delphin lost his mother when he was 4 due to the unrest in the region. He now lives with his elderly grandfather who is not able to send him to school. He needs $70 for this school year.  Would you help Delphin go to school?

Meet Toussaint.... Update: Thank you!  Toussaint has been sponsored!!

Toussaint is 10 years old. His family and him work a little garden to survive. They do not always have enough for the whole family. Toussaint wants to return to school in hope that it will open doors for him in the future.  Would you help him achieve his goal?

Maybe you can't sponsor the full amount, but any amount will help.  I have joined with my friend Trésor in this fundraising effort.  Below is a link to the fundraising page where you can donate under my team: "To Be Known"  In honor of my son, Zalen, my goal is to raise $400 to represent each year of his precious little life.  We celebrated his 4th birthday in May. The number 4 for every year he fought the injustices against him & survived until God wrote us, his family, into his story. 

Will you pray about joining me?  This campaign will be wrapping up at the end of this week so please don't delay.  If you can't give, choose a picture and pray for that child.  Buy the book and read it and let their stories be known.  Share this with your friends and be a voice.  So many ways that you can help!  Our family has already sponsored a beautiful lady for school this year.  Will you join us to send them to school?

 Click below to donate:

Send Them to School

Thank You!