SOLIDARECA
BONVOLO
Supporting Education and Independence in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
Bonvolo is a Congolese not-for-profit organization, legally registered as "Solidarite Bonne Volonte".
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It is situated at the Eastern Border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, bordering Rwanda, between the active volcano Nyiragongo and Lake Kivu.
Bonvolo is a children's charity which has been supporting orphans and poor children in Goma since 2004, and now has a small local and international leadership team led by Alphonse Waseka Kamango (DRC) and Penelope Vos (Australia).
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Our goals are to give poor children access to schooling and to help their mothers to support their families through skilled work.
WAYS WE HELP
Strategic Humanitarian Aid
Education and independence are the most important goals of our organisation.
We serve a community which consists mostly of refugee families, usually single-parent, who have fled other parts of Congo
for the relative safety of Goma.
EDUCATION
Affordable Education is an Unrealized Dream in Goma
Bonvolo has provided direct sponsorship for the education of dozens of primary and middle-school children, and university students. since 2004. We pay the fees to each school in person to ensure that every cent of every donation serves the donor's intention.
Building Community and Independence
Mama Wimbi Lends a Hand
DRC offers no social security to any of its citizens and "internally displaced persons" lack the local connections to seek help from relatives. In 2018 we launched a project with Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) to provide sewing training, equipment and workspace, to the mothers of the children we support.
We called the project 'Mama Wimbi' (Mother Wave, in Swahili) because of the idea of a significant ripple effect from the empowerment of these mothers to their children, to struggling teachers in underfunded schools, and to local suppliers.
Mama Wimbi also gives these women companionship and belonging as well as the dignity of skilled work, a hope of financial independence and , for some, shelter whilst we work towards that.
Our international partner SewAid provides sewing equipment, training and a workshop for our work.
We are currently sewing uniforms for the new school year and looking forward to advanced industrial machine training to stop us from wearing out our domestic sewing machines on tougher bag-making fabrics.
SchoolKit Production and Distribution
Independence Through Serving Others in Need
Our workshop is starting production and distribution of "SchoolKits", backpacks and school uniforms, to children whose families cannot afford both the school fees and the equipment for learning. The skilled work of sewing the bags, shorts, skirts and shirts will keep eight workers employed all year and enable them to house and educate their children independently.
The Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile will be sending $100 of support for each of the 40 children of our sewing team, to ease the transition to independence. The mothers will be proud to be able to take it from there!
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