Summary:

My name is Paula Umeh, and I am the founder of Untitled Blessings, a student-led charity group currently running a drive called Project Congo. We are collecting clothes, shoes, and other items for displacement camps in the Congo. This GoFundMe is being created to raise funds to cover the cost of large boxes and flying the donations to the Ntibonera Foundation which will be around $1080 (about $980 for flying, about $100 for boxes. The $1300 goal is to give space for price adjustment according to the weight of the items). 50% of any leftover monetary donations will be donated to the Ntibonera Foundation to help cover their own shipping cost (directly to the Congo) of the large shipment of national and international donations they have received. You can donate directly to their GoFundMe with this link. The other 50% of leftover monetary donations will be donated to Focus Congo, an incredible charity organization building clinics and homes, and supporting people in displacement camps in The Congo. The entire process will be clearly documented on our Instagram with visual proof of all purchases and donations to both organizations.

Full description:

Hello everyone! My name is Paula Umeh, I am a 4th-year undergraduate Nursing student at Western University (London, Ontario), and the founder of Untitled Blessings. We are a student-led, nonprofit, charity group that is currently running Project Congo: a city-wide clothing and shoes (and other items) drive for displacement camps in The Congo. We are collaborating with the Ntibonera Foundation who we will be shipping the items to The Congo and delivering them to displacement camps.

Due to increasing violence from militias, expanding exploitive mining, and high rates of human trafficking to employ mining groups and militias (especially children), an alarming rate of Congolese people are fleeing from their homes with barely any belongings. Around 7 million people have been displaced throughout the ongoing Congo crisis. Families are forced to walk for days to populated areas such as Goma, where they are faced with extreme poverty and illness. In these displacement camps, people are experiencing rampant diseases, premature deaths, starvation, contaminated water, infected wounds and cuts from walking on volcanic rocks with no shoes and many more. Please refer to this post on our Instagram (@untitledblessings ) for more information.

People trying to survive in displacement camps are in serious need of clothes, shoes, and other items including water purification tablets, dry food, first aid tools, utensils and flatware, soap, feminine products (pads), bags, coats, jackets, baby clothes, baby bottles, and baby formula (all items are detailed on our flyer ).

Throughout July, we have been collecting dropped-off donations at Empress Avenue Park (161 Empress Ave, London, ON N6H 1N6) every Friday of July between 12pm to 5pm. As well as picking up donations throughout the week that were scheduled through our messages on our Instagram. All donations will be flown to the Ntibonera Foundation in Tenesse, US which will ship them to The Congo and distribute them to displacement camps and struggling communities using their team working on the ground.

This GoFundMe is being created to raise funds to cover the cost of large boxes and flying the donations to the Ntibonera Foundation which will be around $1080 (about $980 for flying, about $100 for boxes) depending on the weight and volume of the cargo (the $1300 goal is to give space for price adjustment according to the weight of the items). 50% of any leftover monetary donations will be donated to the Ntibonera Foundation to help cover their own shipping cost (directly to the Congo) for the large shipment of national and international donations they have received. You can donate directly to their GoFundMe with this link.

The other 50% of leftover monetary donations will be donated to Focus Congo, an incredible charity organization building clinics and homes, and supporting people in displacement camps. The entire process will be clearly documented on our Instagram with proof of all purchases and donations to both organizations.

Thank you for your support! For more information about our story and the Congo Crisis, please check out our CBC London News interview. Message us on Instagram (@untitledblessings) with any questions and/or if you would like to join the volunteer team!

With great appreciation,

Paula Ginikachi Umeh (she/her) | Founder | Untitled Blessings

“You Don’t Need A Name to Help”

Student-led charity group based in London, Ontario

Instagram: @untitledblessings