COVID Relief plan for Congolese Families in need

In March 10, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reported its first case of COVID-19. This comes months after the recent Ebola outbreak, which seems to be under control, no new cases reported so far. This past Saturday, the number of those infected with COVID-19 went up to 22 and today (March 23) the number has reached 36 cases with 2 deaths. Hence, President Felix Antoine Tshisekedi ordered the cancellation of all flights from overseas and all internal activities, in both public and private sectors, for four weeks effective immediately. A decision that my organization, Bonsomi Health Foundation (Bonsomi/BHF), strongly oppose to and deplore because Congolese live in extreme poverty and no measure has been taken to address the survival of the population during these four weeks. The most recent data from the world bank shows that 73% of the 80 million Congolese population live in extreme poverty, on less than $1.90 a day, making the DRC one of the highest poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa ahead of Nigeria. Thus, we are raising $1000 to purchase milk, sugar, oil and bags of rice to distribute to at least 15 Congolese families living in remote areas in the city of Kinshasa. The selection of families as well as the distribution is supervised by Bonsomi's managing director Elijah Tshibuabua, who is currently in the DRC. He will be accompanied by a small group of medical doctors, who constantly collaborate with us.  

Bonsomi means ‘freedom’ in Lingala, a language widely spoken in the DRC. As a non-profit, Bonsomi focused on providing maternal and child care to rural communities in Africa. We are focused on giving women and children the freedom they need and deserve to continue being active members of their society to their fullest potential. Thus, once this project is completed we will make sure to display pictures on our social media, which are currently under construction and will go live shortly, to show to our donors what has been done.
Also, anyone who would like to be officially recognized after making the donation, please let us know at [email redacted].

Show some kindness by supporting Congolese families in need in this unprecedented time and help out as much as you can. NO HELP IS LITTLE.

Tshibambe N. Tshimbombu, Dartmouth Medical Student
CEO of BHF