Chantal Kasongo’s beautiful eyes light up when she talks about Shiloh Place Orphanage in her hometown of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A labour of love for the past seven years for the Coquitlam resident, the first phase of the project is complete. Now, Kasongo is looking for donations for furniture, Bibles and hymn books in French or Swahili for the community centre and chapel that is about to open.
“It was a dream or vision since I was home,” said Kasongo, who immigrated from Lubumbashi 20 years ago with her husband, who has since passed away.
Working as an attendant at a Vancouver hotel, Kasongo said she felt it was time she gave back to her former home to provide safe housing and education opportunities for children aged two to 15.
“We don’t have an orphanage [in Lubumbashi), it made me cry,” she told The Tri-City News.
So she bought a parcel of land, putting some of the payment on her credit card, and has been fundraising ever since to build a learning centre, a medical clinic, farm and church, plus a well for clean water.
Shelagh Armour-Godbolt, a local volunteer who has done fundraising for other African projects, decided to come on board when she saw Kasongo’s dedication to the cause.
“I was really impressed. It’s a big project,” said Armour-Godbolt, who acts as Kasongo’s press agent, noting that only the finishing touches remain to be finished on the community centre and chapel.
Fundraising continues as well for the next phase of the project, which will be to build four to six homes that will house six to eight children who will be looked after by a house mother, a local widow.
Kasongo explained that the African culture is patriarchal and widows are often left destitute because property is returned to the husband’s family. She wants to create a safe place for women as well as children, she said.
“When you see things that are essential and that people don’t have it, especially as a mother, you feel that compassion,” explained Kasongo, who has a grown son.
Many of the children she has met who might come to live at the orphanage one day are practically destitute, with no money for clothes, let alone school fees, uniforms and shoes. Although they often live with relatives, they are usually the last in a family to be sent to school.
That’s why Kasongo is also looking for people to sponsor a child and pay for their school fees, clothes and books, all of which costs $250 a year.
The project is under the umbrella of the Umoja Operation Compassion Society of BC, which can provide tax-deductible receipts for donations over $25.
• For more information about Shiloh Place Orphanage, visit www.shilohplace.ca. To donate online, go to www.umojaoperations.ca, click on Support Us, then on Donate. Under “fund designation” on the donation form, click on Shiloh Place Orphanage (DR-of Congo) to complete your donation.
