Supporting the people of Idjwi Island, DRC
The beautiful island of Idjwi in Lake Kivu could be a paradise. But it is not.
It has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world – 25 years according to Amani Global Works and Mulago Foundation. Infant, child and maternal mortality rates are alarmingly high. Malaria and malnutrition are among the biggest causes of death on the island, and extreme protein deficiency (Kwashiorkor) is very high among children and pregnant women, causing severe health problems. (Harvard-led study in 2011) http://luminosity.org.uk/article.php?articleid=5
I first visited Idjwi Island more than 10 years ago. I was shocked by what I saw. I was shocked by the poverty, shocked by the malnourished children, shocked by the obvious ill health of so many of the people. I knew I had to do something to help these people, who seemed to have been forgotten by the rest of the world and even by their own country.
I was taken there by my friend Kizungu Hubert, a native of Idjwi, who is the Director of an Orphanage on the outskirts of Goma which I have supported since 2009. Kizungu has worked tirelessly over the past 20 years to support the most vulnerable people in his communities. In 2015 he establish an NGO – Volunteers in Mission for Children Care/Volontaires en Mission pour la Protection de l’Enfance, to help the Tchukudu Kids’ Home (Goma), the Tchukudu Women’s Group (Goma), and the people of Idjwi Island.
Projects
For information on our Poultry Project click here.
For information on our Bee Hive Project click here.
For information on the Boat Project click here.
For information on the Land and Food for Pygmies click here.
Fund Raising
Fund Raising managed by Helen Pope in association with the Fondazione Cariello Corbino.
