D.R. Congo is, at any given time, the poorest country in the world. And it is here, unfortunately, that Eastern D.R. Congo has been coined the “Rape Capital of the World.” Currently, the United Nations is spending more money on keeping D.R. Congo safe than in any other nation in the world. Ironically, there are more resources, minerals and gems whose wealth could resource the entire African continent, but the mines are being controlled by more than 120 militias vying for power and control.
Goma city is the largest city in Eastern D.R. Congo. It is here that the United Nations has the greatest visibility and military presence. Near the city is a territory called, Mugunga. It’s known, historically, as a refugee camp. There are thousands and thousands of orphans, widows and victimized individuals who live and survive in this area.
On a pilot trip in July of 2018, Legacy Incorporated met up with some Congolese leaders who serve and resource victimized individuals, widows and orphans in Eastern D.R. Congo. Through a partnership, Legacy Incorporated’s first safe home in D.R. Congo was built. The two-bedroom, one-bath, green home, was gifted to a woman who had been victimized while foraging for wood in the jungle and wherein she contracted H.I.V. She now has a safe home for her and her four children.
The land was donated by a local leader and built by a local woodworker who was a former child-soldier and whose parents were killed in one of the Congolese wars. After being orphaned, he was forced to take up arms as a child-soldier for a violent militia. At 12, he found his way to an orphanage that allowed him residency. In his teenage years, the young man was trained up in woodworking by the orphanage staff. Today, he is an administrator for that same orphanage. The Legacy home was the first home he ever built. As you can see, it has taken an entire team working together to build a Legacy Incorporated safe-home. Since that time, Legacy has been adding homes to the safe haven community. These homes continue to be built by the same woodworker and his team of orphans whom he employs through the generosity of Legacy partners.
These safe-homes have been an answer of prayer to the recipients. Because of such, they named the safe-haven community, “Asante Mungu.” In Swahili it means, “Thank you God Village.” Their hopeless situations have turned to joy. Watch the video below to see their gratitude expressed through song and dance on move-in day.