Restore Hope Mission

The devastating wars of the late 1990's in Congo left a legacy of orphaned children and young people. Many of these children were deported to Kinshasa and abandoned without family or governmental help. They now live on the streets and have become street children known locally as 'shege'.

There are a growing number of shege from the war and disadvantaged families. These children steal, loot and threaten foreigners and are used by hooligan bands as armed thieves and murderers. Their numbers has increased dramatically in the last eight years. If this situation continues a new under class of rebels will develop leading to social, political and economic instability.

In order to prevent this disaster and to ensure their continued welfare the Restore Hope Mission/Congo has set out to help these young people through educational assistance, adapted to the local context, needs and expectations. This is specifically targeted at 13-20 year olds. The main aim is to open centres of education in Kinshasa where these young people can gain new skills, get access to educational tools and materials, develop agricultural skills so that they can farm and support themselves and get access to medical care. The purpose is to improve the overall health and future prospects of the young people of Kinshasa.