January 2024: Giving Back
Benita and the children when she and Christophe arrived
Christophe and Benita visited the Children for several days in January. They were greeted with singing and dancing and hugs and laughter from the children - but also a lot of rain, which made getting to and from the orphanage a little more challenging during their time there. There are no paved roads between the city of Bukavu (where most of our supplies come from) and Kalehe. Just dirt roads, sometimes with large pot holes, that turn into mud during the rainy season. Vehicles have a hard time getting through the roads but often motorcycles can. So, during this trip, Christophe found a used motorcycle in good working condition that we purchased. It is to be used by our house dad, Espoir to get supplies and transport children for medical emergencies.
Espoir no longer needs to carry children to the hospital!
This trip the children all received brand new underwear! This may not seem like something super exciting for most children to receive, but our children were so excited and grateful! Each child received several pairs of underwear, purchased just for them by Trinity Lutheran Church through a special fundraising campaign it held. The children are so thankful! And the older girls were so excited to go through and find new, adjustable bras donated by SheFit in Grand Rapids. With all of the undergarments donated - there were still some left over for new children when they join the Christophe’s Children family, or when our children grow out of their current size. What a blessing. Thank you all!
Our older girls with their new SheFit bras.
During their stay in Kalehe, Christophe and Benita were asked to visit the refugee camp for the mudslide victims from last May. There are several refugee camps, and one is about an hour walk from the Christophe’s Children home. Our children had the opportunity to give back after they felt they had been given so much. So each child prepared a bag with something to give to one of the children living in the refugee camp. They walked an hour there and an hour back (after going to school all day so they look a little tired in the pictures) and gave their gifts to the kids there. It was beautiful. We do have a few spaces available for children to come and stay with us, and there are several children in this refugee camp that lost their parents and extended families in the mud slide. We are working with local leaders and medical doctors to see if we can bring the children in to our Christophe’s Children family.
Christophe’s Children at the mudslide refugee camp with their gifts for the children staying there.
During their visit, Benita was able to help house mom Deborah make a big pot of fufu for the children ( fufu is kind of like thick mashed potatoes you can eat with your hands and use to scoop up your other food with too). The pictures below show Benita helping to make dinner in the outdoor kitchen. There are also two pictures of the sewing class that several girls voluntarily take. They are getting really good and are building sustainable, vocational skills.
As always, Christophe said it is so good to be with the children. They are so thankful and joyful. Espoir and Deborah are doing a great job caring for them all. They make sure the children are completing their studies, and helping with chores. It is a beautiful family here. Christophe said he checked on some repairs that needed to be made on the home when he was there (a broken door and some minor plumbing issues) and followed up with our pig handlers on the birth and growth of 2 sets of piglets.. We are now up to 13 pigs, 4 adults and 9 piglets with one adult female pregnant! We are working on the budget for our pig project and the children are helping with the pigs. The cost to feed the adult pigs may be too great to care for many more, so we may introduce chickens and/or goats into our farming process and have our older children help in the vocational learning.
The next trip to see the children is scheduled for June/July of 2024. The children have mentioned many times that they would love to get pictures and letters from their sponsors and people who have been so generous and kind with prayers and support for them. So if you have prayed for, sent donations to and/or have sponsored our children, please consider writing a note to the children. Please contact us through our email and we will give you details (info@christopheschildren.org).
Asante. Merci. Thank You! - Christophe’s Children