- LOCATION: Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
- PROJECT: Women’s Empowerment Center
- DIRECTOR: Rev. Udjasiri Wakahasha
- FINANCIAL GOAL:
$6,000 One-year salary for women’s center director
$5,500 Fees for 2023 tailoring classes and literacy program
$30,000 Construction costs for school
Congo has one of the worst records of mistreatment of women in the entire world. In fact Congo is unofficially known as the “rape capital of the world.” This is partly because soldiers raped many women during times of war. And very few of these women have ever had counseling for the trauma they endured. This is why we want to provide counseling. We are working with Rev. Udjasiri Wakahasha to build a sewing center to help local women start their own business. This sewing center was completed in October 2021. We will also use this center to provide trauma counseling.
In 2021 we began construction on our women’s empowerment center, and we raised $20,000 for this. We also purchased the sewing machines and supplies. I went to Goma in August 2022 to dedicate this center and to speak at conferences for women, men and pastors. We need additional funds for a literacy program. We also plan to build a school and daycare to give women more opportunities to support their families.
