Vicent and Brown Fund

Seeking refugee status in Nairobi, Kenya and having the opportunity to resettle in Wayne, PA were one part good choice and one part luck!  My name is Samuel Cyubahiro and I started the Vicent & Brown Fund because I have been where Vicent and Brown are now.

I lost my family when I was 15.  Vicent and Brown were 15 and 13.  Not many people realize that our beautiful country, The Democratic Republic of Congo, is war torn. People in remote villages (like those the boys and I are from) are being slaughtered, raped, and forced into labor and rebel armies everyday.  As orphans of civil war, it was extremely difficult for us to survive once our families were killed.   We came from good and  loving families and were accustomed to our parents taking care of us!  I met Vicent and Brown while searching for food to eat on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya.  We were in survival mode.

It took about 18 months for the Nairobi UN Refugee Office to vet me.  When I found out that I was going to America  I couldn't believe it.   I immediately knew what I had to do and promised my friends that I would help them once I began earning money in America.  It was my honor to keep this promise.  It felt right and good to help my friends get an apartment and start school.  This winter they took my advice and registered as refugees in Nairobi.  When Sharon and Joseph (my American parents) found out that I was sending them money and advising them, they were proud of me, but asked that I allow them and others to help as well.  

Please consider donating to the Vicent & Brown Fund.  Our V&B Committee will help them get through the next 3 years of school until they are self sufficient.   We won't stop there.  The abundance of guidance, love and blessings I've received since my personal tragedy and loss is overwhelming.   I can't wait to pay it forward in an even bigger way.   It is my mission to one day help more orphans of war realize that there is hope after loss and that they are not alone.  For now, I'm seeing through my support for Vicent and Brown and thank you for your support of them too.

Priority One

Food and Milk per week.........................................$ 50.00
Total for Food and Milk for 52 weeks........ $2,600.00

Priority Two

Housing costs per month (rent, electricity and water)......................................................................... .$150.00

Total for housing for 12 months...................$1,800.00

Priority Three

4  school uniforms..................................................$ 180.00

School fees and transportation for three terms
2 kids per term .........................................................$300.00

Total school and transportation for both boys for 3 terms......................................................................... $1,080.00

Priority Four

2 mattresses and bed frames............................ $300.00

Refrigerator............................................................... $450.00

Gas Cooker................................................................ $380.00

Microwave..................................................................$180.00

3 Ceiling fans....................................................... $50.00 each

Total............................................................................ $7,000.00





*photo by Lynn Brennen