Rebuild Orphanage in Matete Kinshasa

Mbote Mes Amis!

How are you all? I wanted to start by thanking everyone for their kind messages. I’m happy to see that you enjoy the blog and are happy that we are back.

I want to tell you all about the fabulous children at Les Charisecours Orphanage. As some of you know, we have a nonprofit based in Kinshasa called Les Amis de Mulunda et Georgette. Mulunda is the name of my sister who passed away when she was three years old. She’s been my guardian angel my whole life. Georgette is my mom and daughter’s name. The reason for our foundation was to help people who are in tough situations and need our support.

How did we find Les Charisecours Orphanage? Charisecours is located in the town of Matete in Kinshasa (it’s like being from Harlem but you live in New York City). I went to school in Matete (Bambino) and have great memories from my childhood. Naturally, I wanted to start our foundation work in my own backyard. After the 2019 trip, we started our research. In 2020, we went to tour different places. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit the orphanage since we heard about them three days after my departure. The minute I heard about the orphanage and spoke to the Executive Director……..sometimes you just know. It was exactly what we were called to do and we started working with the Director on their most pressing issues.

Three weeks later the Democratic Republic of Congo was shut down due to Covid - just like the rest of the world. The most important thing was to make sure that the kids had food eat and some toys. The price for food and water went up significantly for months. The Kinshasa team made monthly visits to the kids. They dropped off food for the month, checked on the kids, and sometimes brought over-the-counter medication. We bought thicker blankets and other items for the rainy season as well.

The kids have become a very important part of my team and family life. We celebrated Georgette’s birthday virtually with them. We celebrate special holidays and events together via WhatsApp. So when I went home this April I knew I wanted to see my kids before I did anything else. I knew the conditions weren’t ideal and we still had a lot of work to do. I thought I was ready for what I was going to experience in person.

When we pulled in front of the orphanage - I had a weird out-of-body experience. The neighborhood was familiar to me as a child, I had such great memories there with my mom and cousins. We didn’t have everything but we had each other. Even though my mom has been gone for a long time, I still have my cousins and we are still very much connected. I was about to walk into my happy area to kids that didn’t have that. Kids that I have fallen in love with, care about, talk to virtually but never met in person, and haven’t seen where and how they actually live.

The faces were sooo familiar to me and I was so happy to finally see my kids in person. That excitement and nervousness to meet them in real life quickly faded and I became distraught. My poor babies are living in terrible conditions. We took videos and photos but out of respect, we won’t show you everything. I will describe it to you. Even though it would be more powerful to show you everything, I want to have respect for my kids since it’s the only home they know.

After being greeted by some of the kids (others were nervous and hiding), I took a tour of the property with Executive Director Delphin Mukendi. We started with a tour of the outside. The front yard isn’t really conducive to playing. It’s so hot out and there’s no place for shade. If you want to go outside, read, or do anything you will have to just bake in the sun. The outside bathroom is in terrible condition, to put it mildly. There’s only one toilet for 25 kids. The shower area needs to be updated. There are two dogs that are kept in the back for security. I’m a huge dog lover but the dog Max is beyond scary. The outdoor sink that is used for cleaning dishes, getting water for shower, cooking water, etc is broken. There are cracks everywhere and the spiket is broken. The tour of the outside was not so easy.

And then we went inside. I want to be as respectful as I can about this but I can’t find a way to describe what we saw. I don’t want to exploit the children or use these images in order to pull at your heartstrings. What we saw inside broke me. The bigger kids were in the kitchen area cooking. There’s a shelf that they use to hold items that are barely holding on. There are only 3 pots for 25 kids and they are not something you should use to make food that will go in your body. The bedrooms……THE BEDROOMS. It’s just not fair. We can do better! The freezer that holds their food is leaking and so old. It barely keeps the food cold. The whole interior needs to be cleared out, disinfected, painted, redone, and furnished.

After the interior tour, I told the Executive Director that I wanted to talk to my team outside really quickly before we shared cakes and sweets with the kids. I walked outside to the corner and told Colonel John that I can’t believe that this is what these kids, MY KIDS, have as their home. The tears just kept flowing and I couldn’t stop crying. I put my sunglasses on, cried, and gathered myself. We went inside and had treats with the kids, asked them about their hopes and dreams and we Facetimed their big sister Georgette.

As we all know, it takes a village to raise a child. it takes a huge community to raise orphans. I’m not the most religious person and I don’t really know bible quotes. But I do know that there are mentions about treating orphans and looking after them. I need your help in helping these beautiful children. We’ve been supporting them with money from the business but we need more and it needs to happen YESTERDAY. Our children have been through a lot already and we have a chance to really make a difference. We can do something that will show them that people all over the world care about them, love them and that they are worthy of love. Improving their sanitary conditions will alleviate a lot of health problems.

In order to get their home in Matete in good working condition, we will need to raise money. I think the best way to do this is via gofundme. The nonprofit is registered in the DRC. We will work on getting 503c in the States. The call of action is for right now. I hope you will join us in helping fix the kids’ home, give them better-living conditions and show them all the power of love.

With Gratitude,

Adolophine