Today, the 198 families who lived in "Bukavu's Hell" (1,000 people who lived in 1,000 square meters in tents with only two toilets and one faucet for water supply) live in better conditions: no more crowded under a canopy next to an open air sewer, but on the hill above, in simple tents, a little larger and brighter, but still small and dark, with inadequate hygienic conditions.
The project involves the construction of a village of small wooden houses to make their life more dignified and safe.
The first lodge was built in late 2016 and continues. In February 2017 our volunteers went to Bukavu to check on the work progress.
We are looking for funds to make a home for each family.

The old tents                                              The construction of the first houses

The construction of the first houses

Construction of a school with a canteen and a dispenser for 500 children living in the "Hell of Bukavu". Our "story" begins with a chance meeting with the Franciscan Sisters, during which we met the Mother General of the Congregation, Sister Octavia, who told us about this camp in which 1,000 people lived in 1,000 square meters huddled in tents with only two toilets and a faucet for water supply. After an inspection of our volunteers we have started the construction of the buildings, and during the following trips, we saw the progress; thanks to the contributions of our benefactors, including the parishes of Cassine and Rivalta Bormida, and the Rotary Club, the residents of the camp finally live in a better accommodation: no more crowded under a shed on the open sewer, but on the hill above, in single tents, a bit wider and brighter than the slum.

In addition to the classrooms we managed to build 48 toilets and some water points. The children attend school in turn and enjoy a daily, warm, nutritious meal.

Much still remains to be done, the school is not yet completed; we continue to raise funds and we expect to complete the project within the year.

The realization of this school for about 800 children was born in response to the call of the village population that reached us through Father Bomoi, with whom we have been collaborating for several years. Together with the Lions Club Acqui Terme Host, and Lions Club International  we created a really fantastic team, and in record time we gave to these Congolese children a safe place to attend classes. Now Kemba has 12 classrooms that will house 800 students in two shifts.

In the jungle, in the middle of nowhere, we managed to create a school for all the children in the area, which, at last, will have the right and the pleasure to study!

Currently underway is the project of building a hangar used as a school of carpentry, to give a chance to young people to learn a trade that will guarantee them a decent future.

Of course, there are many difficulties here too, but once again we encounter Providence: the Art Institut Jona Ottolenghi in Acqui Terme asks us if we are interested in receiving a donation of carpentry workshop machinery that they don’t use.

At this point not linger longer: we mobilize our supporters, we find the means (thanks to the company F.lli Erodio in Bistagno for technical support), we take all the machinery, and our volunteers put them in better conditions.

We have recently sent two container with the tools and other goods.

In 2008, two Congolese priests asked us to build a school for 300 poor children.

The existing building was in bad condition: small and crumbling...

The 300 children who attended the school were forced to stay in cramped classrooms, poorly lit (of course the light of the sun: electricity is a luxury that the village cannot afford), with no chairs and no desks.

We found a contractor willing to direct the work, which carried out an inspection, and the report was not encouraging: Bokoro is 500 kilometers far from the capital Kinshasa; it is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants (we do not know the exact number because there is not a Municipality), including thousands of children, and there are no roads to reach it; it can only be reached by river or military aircraft ...

Imagine how many difficulties we encountered during the implementation of the project, a load of cement evensank during the fluvial transport!

Although we had started to build a school to accomodate 300 children, optimizing costs, with the same expenditure a structure was built  with not only classrooms, but also a toilet, which houses more than 1,300 children!