Congo Experience: Children at Risk

In 1996 I traveled to the Congo and it was an experience that brought me face to face with a tragedy, of the magnitude, that few of us in the West can comprehend. I was invited to spend some time with a friend in his parish of St. Albert, which is located along a main street leading to Kintambo Cemetery. Everyday, without fail, from about 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, I observed that approximately every 30 minutes, a truck would pass by our residence filled with singing young people. This is the custom in Congo when family members or friends have died and the grieving are on their way to a burial. The similar situation happened again in the afternoon starting at 1:00 PM. But, in this case the truck was filled with singing adults. I was confounded as to the reason so many people dying so young.

A few weeks later, I became sick with malaria. Sister Anna Marie, a nurse and a friend treated me with an IV, which she then reclaimed for reuse at a nearby after I no longer needed it. I was appalled. But, she explained that IV supplies and other medical equipment were scarce. These items are essential in saving lives but few were available when needed. "The hospital doesn't even have food, so every patient needs someone accompanying them with a sack of potatoes." In a population of over 50 million people there are only about 2,500 doctors. I counted myself fortunate to have had access to a basic IV. I counted myself lucky to be alive. Now I fully comprehended the reason so many people were dying…No medicine, no medical equipment in the hospital, no vitamins, no vaccinations no medical care… No chance.

But, what impressed me the most was the astounding number of street children who had lost their parents, many of them suffering from starvation, no one to invite them in for a meal. Countless numbers stricken by AIDS, abandoned as "child witches" and blamed for their parents death, demobilized "child warriors", displaced youth from Congo and other countries on bordering it, who had been affected by civil wars in the sub-Saharan region. Youth grieving for lost parents; stigmatized, thrown out of their homes and even murdered. Youth exploited; violated and abandoned by the society they live in with no hope for the future.

I had to do something. I had to find a way. It became my mission to do my part to help remedy this genocide in the making. It became my mission to help save the children.

As soon as I returned to the United States, from Congo, I contacted various institutions and people, who I thought could help the children of Congo… I called on, sent letters to and visited hospitals, hospital administrators and anyone I thought could help the children. Many people responded to my pleas, in particular Eugene B. Smith, the President of St. Vincent de Paul in North America. In June 1998 I partnered with him to send the first shipment of medical supplies to Congo. Our partnership and shipments have continued to today.

By the end of 2001, statistics indicated that there was an estimated 3,000,000 orphans in Congo. And, this number is expected to grow well into the third part of the 21st century with no lull in sight. These disadvantaged children as indicated earlier are a particularly vulnerable social group, whose basic human rights are rarely respected or even acknowledged. They are frequently the victims of arbitrary arrest, detention and ill treatment, a situation made worse by the fact that they cannot rely on relatives or the community to locate them, organize legal assistance or bring them food.

With every tenant of the convention of the rights of the child being violated; from the right to health, development and education to the right to protection from exploitation, the outlook of the Kinshasa's orphans is bleak. They must be protected and guided into a future filled with opportunities for their physical, psychological and spiritual growth.

The Buelela Kabujimini Orphanage will provide these opportunities. It will enable us to effectively make a contribution to the rearing of these vulnerable children in the Kinshasa community. By providing them with a home, food, clothing, education, health care, love and a chance to learn a trade we hope to accomplish this feat.

Your partnership in our orphanage will enable us to effectively serve this impoverished community, and it's disadvantaged. We envision building a successful collaborative by developing our orphanage and farming program with you. With your help, I truly believe we can accomplish miracles and help make a positive impact, however small, in the lives of these lost children.

Sincerely,

Godefroid Kay
Founder & President
Bulela Kabujimini Foundation