A part of our members' subscriptions is given to charities which we feel are deserving and to helping out those in need. One of these charities is Rope who do an excellent job at actually getting charitable donations to those on-the-ground who need it. What we love about Rope is that 100% of all gifts given to Rope are used for the direct benefit of the poor. Rope has a separate charity, Friends of Rope, which fundraises to cover the running costs of the organisation. One of the projects our members have supported is for a group of women in DR Congo. We've just had the following update on how the donation has helped the women there ...
We are taking this opportunity to share with you some of our partner’s work over the last few months and particularly an amazing story of transformation for a young girl currently studying with them.
By the age of 17, Genevieve had lost both her parents and had two children of her own; she lived with her grandmother, but had turned to prostitution. A local Pastor referred Genevieve to our partners and she joined their training course for tailoring. Alongside the sewing classes she had support from a social worker and to the delight of all she completely changed her lifestyle and successfully completed the course – achieving Distinction. On the day of the awards, Genevieve declared “A new story in my life starts today, I am now a dressmaker, and finished with the dirty trade of prostitution.”
Each year, our partners work with 60 – 80 girls from vulnerable circumstances. In January 2015, 35 girls joined a one month course on professional tailoring – this was a full time course and they were provided with a lunch each day. All the girls passed the final assessment, two of them with Distinction (including Genevieve) and 10 girls were given Singer Sewing machines in order to continue their skills.
they have trained and to generate an income, which will support the training operation. They have been working hard to develop contacts with local companies and organisations, with the aim of obtaining contracts to produce uniforms.
This is all really good news at a time of instability in DRC. Our partners report that during January there was a week of riots in Kinshasa which put the girls’ safety at risk and interrupted the training until calm had been restored. Our partners are always grateful for your prayers, and they give thanks to God for his provision through you to enable them to continue in the work.
They are praying for the elections in 2016 to be peaceful; any conflict would result in more people being vulnerable and needing support.
We add our thanks for your support of our work in DR Congo, so that many more girls like Genevieve are given the support and training they need to turn their lives around."
If you wish to get involved with the work of Rope directly you can find their donations page here:
http://www.rope.org.uk/takeaction/1/Donate-Now.o