The Congo Children Trust is a registered small charity in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They support

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

in the D.R.Congo through projects and partner organisations. The vision of the Congo Children Trust is to "improve the quality of life for children living on the streets in the Democratic Republic of Congo".

History

The Congo Children Trust was formed in 2007 by Ian Harvey. Ian set up the trust after working in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

, which is the capital of D.R.Congo, during the first democratic elections in 2006. During this time, Ian observed a sharp rise in the numbers of street children since previously working in the D.R.Congo in the 1990s. The increased number of street children in the D.R.Congo had been a result of the wars during 1996-1997 and 1998-2003.

Street children in the D.R.Congo

It is estimated that there are 250,000 children living on the streets in the D.R.Congo. Children find themselves homeless through a number of factors, accusations of witchcraft,

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

, a death of one/both parents due to

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

, extended family being unable to support the child and parental separation. Whilst living on the street the children are exposed to daily violence, sexual, physical and emotional abuse. The street children lack secure access to their basic needs such as food and shelter.

Projects

The Congo Children Trust's main project is Kimbilio, which receives 98% of the funding raised by the trust. The Kimbilio project, set up in 2009, is based in

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

, D.R.Congo. Kimbilio runs a day centre and four homes for street children in Lubumbashi and seeks to reunite children with their families. In 2021, Kimbilio opened a primary school for former street children and children whose families are on zero or low income.

Trustees and staff

The Congo Children Trust has no paid members of staff in the UK, all staff are volunteers.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is the founder of the Children Congo Trust and set up the Kimbilio project. Harvey attended the University of London, where he studied Social Anthropology. After being qualified as a Social Worker, Ian worked in child protection. Harvey managed Manchester's social work team, where he supported and assessed unaccompanied asylum seeking young people and children. In 2009 Harvey moved to D.R.Congo and set up project Kimbilio. In 2013 Harvey returned to the UK to oversee the development and running of Kimbilio.

Mark Gant

Mark Gant is the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of the Congo Children Trust. Gant is the Head of Modern Languages at the

University of Chester , mottoeng = "He that teacheth, on teaching" , former_names = , established = (gained university status in 2005) , type = Public , endowment = £395,000 (2018) , budget = £118.3 million , chancellor = Gyles Brandreth , vice_chancello ...

. Gant was involved in the establishment and initial planning of the Kimbilio project.

Funding

About 98% of the money funded by the Congo Children Trust goes to the Kimbilio project. The Kimbilio project uses this money to support street children, for example school fees, food, staff payments, construction costs and health care. The Congo Children Trust runs through donations, fundraising and grants.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://congochildrentrust.org/ Charities based in the United Kingdom