Help Build Schools in Congo

You and I can change the world …

 … one child at a time.

Recently, Father Nicodème Muambata, OFM submitted an emergency request to help build schools in Congo. He and the other Franciscan missionary friars of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of the Angels are responsible for 46 Franciscan schools.

Fr. Nicodème is the Director of the Catholic Schools of the Franciscan Friars in the country. He is responsible for these 46 schools and the education of 26,574 boys and girls.

In the town of Mbujimayi, the Tshiya primary school with 18 classrooms and the Dilubula primary school with 6 classrooms need to be rebuilt. The 3rd school to be rebuilt is the Muabana primary school with 12 classrooms. This school is located 59 miles from Mbujimayi.

The Need

He sent photos of 3 primary schools that need to be rebuilt and some pictures of the students. These pictures are heartbreaking! It is hard to believe that kids today must attend schools that are in such bad condition and so poorly equipped.

Farmers in our country would not even house livestock in structures that are in this condition. The buildings of these schools were not constructed well and are now dilapidated. They do not have doors or windows. One school has no roof!

All the classrooms have dirt floors, and there are no desks for the students. The children bring stools, chairs, and cans to sit on. During class, the children huddle in small groups to share the few books and pencils that are available.

Help Build Schools in Congo

Fr. Nicodème maintains that “the transformation of the African society will have to start with educating young children.” So, he has plans to rebuild these 3 schools and improve the education that these poor children receive!

Our Franciscan missionary friars serve in remote areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the people live in extreme poverty. Neither the local community, the government, nor the local Church have the resources to rebuild schools.

And so, I am turning to you, pleading for your support. We can help Fr. Nicodème rebuild these 3 schools and provide a much better learning environment for the children. He also wants to buy new textbooks for all the schools, so the children do not have to share 1 book among 8 students.

Change The Lives of Children

Here is a wonderful opportunity to change the lives of children born into extreme poverty, but also born into vibrant faith and courageous hope. You can see this on their faces. If you could talk to these little ones, you too would be inspired by their love of life and their hope for their futures.

Together with the Fr. Nicodème and our other Franciscan missionaries, you can provide these children with a valuable head start in their earliest years. If only we can rebuild these schools to give them a better learning environment for their best start in life!

The total cost to rebuild and equip 2 schools is only $163,000 and the cost to rebuild the 3rd school is still being estimated. This school is located further away in the jungle than the other 2 schools, which makes the delivery of building materials to that site even more expensive.

This is not on overly large amount of money to rebuild schools by our American standards, but the amount is beyond the dreams and abilities of families or the local Church to provide.

Will You Join Us

Will you join us in achieving this wonderful goal by helping Fr. Nicodème complete these new school buildings and buy new textbooks for the children?

You can help change the world, one child at a time, through your generous support of our Franciscan missions.

Please walk with us as we bring the Gospel to the world’s poor, especially nurturing the faith and promise of children.

I thank you for your continued prayers and generosity for the poor in the missions. You make known God’s goodness in our world by ministering alongside our Franciscan missionaries. God bless you for sharing in our Gospel mission.

Please Donate – Select [24A4CS] Help Build Schools in Congo

With a grateful heart,

Brother Andrew Brophy, OFM

Executive Director

P.S. I realize that you have many other requests placed before you. I ask you, in Christ’s name, to please consider the urgency and value of being part of a ministry that will form the minds and hearts of little children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Please give from your loving heart and change the world!