DR CONGO
Empowering deaf people in the DR Congo through education, vocational training, medical care and the gospel.
OUR MINISTRY PARTNERS IN DR CONGO
Centre for the Deaf
In the DR Congo, deaf people face heavy stigma. Our ministry partner’s Centre for the Deaf provides a safe haven and a path to empowerment for those who have been rejected by society due to being deaf.
The centre provides the only specialist services for the deaf in the North Kivu region (of around 9 million people), and includes a primary and secondary school, a vocational training program, a health clinic, and churches, all of which communicate in sign language.
Empower young deaf people towards independence and acceptance.
Our partner provides essential medical treatment, specialist hearing services and comprehensive healthcare for deaf people that would struggle to access basic healthcare elsewhere due to communication challenges.
This gives them the same opportunity to live a healthy life, free from pain and suffering, as everyone else.
There are very limited opportunities for deaf people in the DR Congo to gain employment.
Our vocational training program equips them with the skills they need to earn an income, gain their independence and integrate into the ‘hearing’ community.
Graduates from program are changing perceptions in their community about the capabilities of deaf people.
99% of deaf people in the DR Congo have never had the word of God shared with them.
Even within the church community, the deaf are marginalised as they are not able to participate in church activities due to the communication barrier.
Our partner’s church and evangelism project addresses this barrier for both Christian and non-Christian people in the deaf community so they can come to know Jesus.
Heal
HEAL Africa brings healing, hope and spiritual support to people fleeing conflict, persecution and internal displacement.
They do this by providing essential medical care to those that cannot afford it, support for families impacted by HIV/AIDS and conflict, refuge and vocational training for young people living on the streets and education for children living in one of the world’s largest refugee camps.
Give the DR Congo’s most vulnerable people hope for a brighter future.
Our child sponsorship program provides wholistic support for the most vulnerable and marginalised children in Goma and its surrounding communities.
Our partner gives them access to education, a more secure home situation and hope for a brighter future.
Through their Mercy Fund our partner’s hospital provides critical medical care to their poorest and most vulnerable patients free of charge.
Medical care gives them a chance to survive and to live without pain and suffering that otherwise they could not afford.
Our partner also runs a school in the Mugunga refugee and displaced people camp to provide some of the most vulnerable children access to education and hope for a brighter future.
Their Uamusho project is an outreach program providing refuge for young people living on the streets.
The project gives them hope for a brighter future by providing opportunities to attend literacy and numeracy classes, to return to formal education or pursue vocational training.
ABOUT DR CONGO
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is the second largest country in Africa and its population of 106 million people currently endure one of the world’s lowest living standards.
In addition to the ‘common’ challenges of poverty, ongoing military conflict in the northern region of Kivu (where our ministry partners live and serve) has forced 5 million people to flee from their homes (the DR Congo has the 2nd most internally displaced people in the world) and millions more to live under constant threat of violent attack from rebel forces.
People with a disability in the DR Congo can face heavy stigma as many consider it a curse or punishment from God for the behaviour of someone in the family.
As a result, they struggle to access basic necessities like education, medical services, vocational training and employment opportunities.
STORIES FROM OUR MINISTRY PARTNERS
Pray for Goma
Faces of Resilience – DR Congo
