Life
Democratic Republic of Congo: Banro Foundation and friends helping a nation recover from war
On September 14th in Toronto, friends of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will have an opportunity to Celebrate the Congo.
Celebrate the Congo is a Congolese cultural night and will include a silent auction of original Congolese art. It is being held at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, near the Yonge-Bloor subway station, with tickets priced at CAD$25 (US$25.23) each.
The goal of the evening is to raise funds towards construction of a new and urgently needed CAD$160,000 (US$161,400) hospital at the town of Namoya in Maniema province.
Celebrate the Congo is being organized and hosted by the Banro Foundation, with financial support from a number of businesses active in Africa.
The Banro Foundation was established in 2005 and is based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the town of Bukavu.
The Banro Foundation is a registered Congolese charity with a mandate to improve the lives of thousands of people living in South Kivu and Maniema provinces through strategic investments in education, health and infrastructure development and to provide humanitarian assistance as needed.
By the end of 2012, the Banro Foundation will have completed construction of 10 new schools and the rehabilitation of two more schools, serving approximately 4,200 students in four separate communities.
Commissioning of the Kama Bridge on June 26, 2012. PHOTO/Banro Foundation
Other projects include programs to increase female school attendance and to integrate former child artisanal miners into the school system; the construction of four new health clinics; the building of potable water systems including one serving 18,000 people; the rehabilitation of over 100 kilometres of community roads and bridges; the major refurbishment of a community hydro-electric project; a regional commercial market and many more projects.
Celebrate the Congo marks the second fundraising endeavor by the Banro Foundation. Last year, the Foundation hosted a golf tournament near Toronto which raised CAD$96,000 (US$96,884) for a new multi-purpose women’s health unit at the world famous Panzi General Referral Hospital in Bukavu. When it opens on August 30, 2012, the new health unit will provide prenatal consultation, family planning and HIV sensitization, child health and other activities related to women’s health.