Imagine all that stood between you and an education was $1 a month and you couldn’t afford to pay it. And your sole possession was the outfit you’re wearing right now.
It’s a grim scenario, but it’s one that’s playing out for hundreds of thousands of people every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country torn apart by more than two decades of war with neighbouring countries and brutal rebel attacks.
Earlier this month I was invited by World Vision to tour its development projects in the DRC -- all made possible by money from donors in North America.
The picture is sobering, and heartbreaking. Living in Canada it’s hard to imagine that people don’t have access to medical care, education and clean water – but this is daily life in the poverty-ravaged African nation, where most people live on less than a dollar a day.
Millions of people, forced to flee their farms and villages because of bloody attacks at the hands of M23 rebels, have nothing at all – and nothing to return to. Their homes were ransacked or burned to the ground, and they are now living in tents in refugee camps spread across the country.
The situation is poised to get much worse. The World Food Program says it has to back operations in the DRC because of a $70-million shortfall forecast for 2014.
The deficit translates to major cuts for programs that provide emergency food aid to the country’s poorest citizens. Bottom line: people will go hungry, and regular food aid isn’t expected to arrive until the spring, if at all. One in 10 children already suffers from acute malnutrition.
But among the darkness, there is hope. World Vision Canada is sponsoring education programs that allow children to get primary education, and trade schools that teach teens a skill like baking or tailoring -- career paths that will provide for their family for generations.
Water initiatives mean rural areas have access to clean water while cutting down on diseases like cholera and typhoid. It’s also sponsoring programs that help facilitate food deliveries in the refugee camps, to make sure people are getting their most basic needs. And a new campaign, Raw Hope, helps vulnerable children who are caught up in some of the most violent conflict on earth, where they are at risk from abuse, hunger, violence and exploitation.
So if you’re still looking for a Christmas present for that person on your list that has everything, why not get them a gift that gives back to a struggling family overseas?
World Vision Canada’s gift catalog offers hundreds of ways to honour a loved one by giving a life-changing gift, like animals that can be bred to start a farm, to a micro-loan for business start-ups, to education grants that allow children to attend school for the first time.
You can also buy household items crafted by women in developing nations. The gifts have a double benefit: you receive an artisan gift item, and the proceeds go back into the community to help fund clean water projects, schools and setting people up with a sustainable livelihood.
A little goes a long way to help someone in need. You can purchase a goat for $100, three soccer balls for $30 or stock a whole medical clinic for $100. Helping a family start a business costs $100. Last Christmas over 82,000 Canadians sent World Vision gifts worth over $17-million to families living in poverty.
The people living in the DRC have the same wants we all do: to get an education, to have a job and to be able to provide for their families. They don’t want a handout, but they could use a hand up. And making a small donation can give people the tools to change their lives.
On this weekend’s Steele on Your Side weekly edition, producer Darcy Wintonyk shares why it’s truly better to give than receive this Christmas. Join us at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
