From Exploitation in Mines to a Hope Filled Future

It's now been over a year since we were able to visit Dorsen and Richard with Alex Crawford and the Sky News Team to offer their fathers the chance of shelter, food, care and education for their sons. The team at Kimbilio had been aware of street-connected children who had fled a life of child labour in the artisanal colbalt mines near Lubumbashi, and are hugely grateful for Alex Crawford's report and the opportunity it gave us to help some of these children. This was made possible by your support - Thank you!

As you can see from the photos, Richard and Dorsen are continuing to grow and thrive as part of our Kimbilio family. Both are enjoying school, playing and just having fun with their friends. They have settled in really well and have regular contact with their dads.

Recently CBS News also reported from southern DR Congo. Again, young children were being used as child labour to mine the cobalt that is needed to power many of our now household communication appliances. A light was again shone in to this darkest of trades. You can read their report here.

So for GlobalGiving's Little by Little Campaign, which starts April 9th through to April 13th, we will be focusing on Kimbilio's From Exploitation in Mines to a Hope Filled Future project. GlobalGiving will match donations up to $50 at 50% with $50,000 in matching funds. During this campaign, please consider donating or sharing Richard and Dorsen's story with friend or colleagues. Every little helps and is valued immensely.

Thank you once again for your support. 

Christmas message from the Congo Children Trust

2017 has been a full year at CCT. In Congo, as well as seeing a large increase in the number of street children seeking our support, we also gained wide reaching publicity about Kimbilio’s work that was broadcast on Sky News. This opened new opportunities for Kimbilio to support some of the children exploited in the artisinal colbalt mines near Lubumbashi.

On addition to this, the situation in DR Congo continues to be challenging. The year started with unrest in Lubumbashi, demonstrations against President Kabila, who should have stood down by November 2016. 2017 has ended without elections, however, they are now being promised in December 2018. It appears that the President is trying to hang on to power by whatever means. Any uprisings against him are being quickly and violently extinguished.

We’re looking forward to a new year with all the unknowns and surprises it will hold. We are so thankful to be in a position to help children facing hugely challenging circumstances. We hope that we will be able to continue to make a real difference in the lives of children who come to us for support. We are thankful for the transformation we have been able to see over this past year.

As you can see from the photo, Dorsen and Richard continue to grow and thrive in the care of Kimbilio. They have as regular contact with their fathers as possible and they are really enjoying doing everything that children do, even if it does mean school sometimes! It is so encouraging to see them doing so well. We need your support more than ever to support others like them.

Thank you so much for your donation to Kimbilio in this valuable work.

P.S. There's still a few days remaining to donate to GlobalGiving's Year End Campaign (finishes midnight 31st December). We are eligible for extra bonus amounts if we get enough donors which would be an amazing way to begin 2018. Please consider supporting us during this season or sharing our projects with friends and family. Thank you!