HOPE and Care for Little Souls
Home » Partners » HOPE and Care for Little Souls
Directors: Mozart and Sephora Dino Kile
Location: Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo
Years of partnership with AHI: 4
HOPE and Care for Little Souls newsletters
What is HCLS?
Hope and Care for Little Souls (HCLS) is a project that is bringing hope to children of the Ituri region of northeastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). HCLS provides education, a fostering program for parentless children, and basic medical care and hygiene programs.
Background
More than 5 years ago HOPE partner directors Mozart and Sephora Kile fled the war and genocide during the Congo Wars (1997-2003) which saw devastating loss of life, the destruction of their home, and an exponential increase in the number of children left parentless or in dire poverty. They lived in asylum in Uganda and Kenya until returning to Bunia in the middle of 2008.
HCLS started out as a personal project in response to the plight of orphaned children that Mozart discovered during brief research visits back to Congo. Initially supporting just a few Congolese children from their meager resources and desperate to do more, Mozart and Sephorah teamed up with HOPE and foundation supporters to gradually build the program to it’s current level.
Progress and Achievements
Since returning to Bunia, Mozart and Sephorah have overseen a period of rapid growth. Three years ago the program was very basic, funding the placement of about 30 children in local schools. Two years ago it grew to 65 children, who were now being taught by newly-employed teachers under the trees, garages and verandahs of the HCLS compound. The first classroom block was constructed and at the beginning of the current school year the program had grown to 170 students and 11 full time staff, medical care, fostering, and a small widow support program.
A second classroom building is now under construction to house two more classrooms and an office. This will allow the nursery school classes to move out of cramped conditions in the small shop at the front of the compound, and mean that all 9 primary classes will be in purpose-built classrooms.
The HCLS class of 2009 / 2010 in front of the recently completed school building
Vision
The goal of HCLS is to help children without hope of a future to find their place in the world and with education and loving input, become leaders and people of positive influence in this war torn and poverty stricken area of the Congo.
The results seen in the children to date have been nothing short of miraculous in a lot of cases, and the plan is to facilitate education opportunities for more and more children into the future.
The next stages of development include the first HCLS secondary school, a community clinic at the HCLS compound, and the development of agricultural land to support local families and provide much needed food for the children in the program.
Check out the latest HCLS newsletter for information on the Target 150 Sponsorship drive and to see photos from the recent trip to Bunia by the Oz coordinator for HCLS, Steve Schoemaker.