Hello! My name is John Dunia and I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the war that started in 1996, I had to leave my country and became a refugee in Tanzania. In 2011 I began a new life in Canada and am now a Canadian citizen. After living in Canada for a while I found that my adopted country was a place full of opportunities and was inspired to start an NGO. Although I live far from where I was born, I want to give something back by helping people there to rebuild their lives and have a better future so, working with friends and family in Congo and Canada, I started Baraka Victory Centre (BVC) which is now a registered Congolese non-profit organisation in Fizi Territory.   You can read more about BVC on our website <a href="https://barakavictory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://barakavictory.com/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://barakavictory.com/</a></a>  and Facebook page<a href="https://www.facebook.com/bvccongo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/bvccongo/" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/bvccongo/</a></a> I had the privilege of sharing my story with one of our Ottawa's local Newspapers, "New Edinburgh News". If you would like to read my story, click on the link below and go to page 16:  <a href="https://jdsafariblog.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://jdsafariblog.com" target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://jdsafariblog.com</a></a> <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_1545875389778100_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_1545875389778100_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" /> BVC is based in Baraka, a town in South Kivu province on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in eastern Congo, the place where I grew up. The war officially ended in 2003 but there is still a lot of insecurity caused by rebel groups that are active in the area and the general breakdown of law and order. The war and continuing conflicts have had devastating consequences for the whole population, many people lost everything and now struggle to provide for their families and schools, health facilities and other infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.  <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_154587490799339_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_154587490799339_r.jpeg" title="" width="100%" media_type="3" /> While we cannot solve all these problems we can make a difference, and we are already sponsoring children and young people to attend school and university. Most schools and universities in the area do not have enough books and there is no public library in Baraka, which makes it challenging for those who are studying, teaching, need reference materials for their jobs, want to gain new knowledge and skills or just enjoy reading. We are going to start a library and computer centre to improve access to books and other information. To get the library started and help people in the area who have very little, we want to send a shipping container filled with books, computers, school supplies, clothes, shoes etc from Canada to Baraka, D.R.Congo. <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_1555604253388283_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_1555604253388283_r.jpeg" title="" width="100%" media_type="3" />I was able to buy some French and English books and I am very excited to see this happening. <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_1555801930304508_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_1555801930304508_r.jpeg" title="" width="100%" media_type="3" /> <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_1545874372122882_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_1545874372122882_r.jpeg" title="" width="100%" media_type="3" /> We have already started collecting these items, but we need money to pay for the cost of shipping. Our goal is to raise $28,000, and your donations will be used as follows: ·      $8,000 to ship the container from Canada to Congo ·      $10,000 to start and run the library ·      $5,000 to support the needs of vulnerable children and young people who are orphans or from poor families .      $ 5,000 to Nundu Deaconess Hospital in eastern DR Congo to buy medical supplies. As well as one-off donations to BVC of any size, we also welcome people who can provide longer-term assistance. If you would like to sponsor a child to attend school, you can find more information about this and a list of children in need of sponsors in the "Sponsor a Child" section of our website <a href="https://barakavictory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><a href="https://barakavictory.com/." target="_blank" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://barakavictory.com/.</a></a> <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/33020868_1537135384392081_r.jpeg" alt="33020868_1537135384392081_r.jpeg" title="" width="100%" media_type="3" /> If you wish to sponsor a university student or help us in any other way, please contact us through the website. Thank you for your support!

Sarah-Lynn MacNeale

Frederick Lepage

Catherine Hodgins

Anonymous

Peter Hartgerink

BRENDA TURGEON

Abel Sumaili

Edmond Misambano 

Bertha Ahikye 

Odette Nabintu

Ato Assaba

Christine Flato

Help us rebuild lives in D.R.Congo

Help us rebuild lives in D.R.Congo

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