Kids in the Congo!

In July 2008, I met a Congolese Assumptionist missionary from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). His name is Fr. Salvator Kasereka Musande. The dream he had of helping educate Congolese children melded with my desire to serve God as a missionary when I retire in the not too distant future. What transpired from that providential meeting led to our co - founding Kids in the Congo, Inc.

My name is Lynne Brouillette and this is our story.

It all started with a short "bucket list" of sorts:

1. I want to visit an exotic country, Australia maybe!
2. I'd like to do some kind of mission work outside the U.S...but what ? Hmm....

Well there were no Assumptionists in Australia. Darn ! But there were in Africa...so goodbye Australia, hello Africa. I decided to combine both items on my bucket list and make them my lifelong commitment.

I am a parishioner at St. Anne/St. Patrick Parish in Fiskdale, MA. It's a vibrant, growing Roman Catholic community served by the Augustinians of the Assumption. Through a series of random conversations about my retirement plans with various people, I met a 92 year old retired Assumptionist priest named Fr. Oliver Blanchette. Fr. Oliver had become a missionary in Kenya at the ripe old age of 83. Through him and another friend Cathy, I met Fr. Salvator ; Sal for short.

At that time, Sal was a student at Assumption College in Worcester. He has since completed his Bachelor's and Masters Degrees in Business Administration and is now serving the St. Anne/St. Patrick Parish for the next year.

When I met Sal in late July 2008, I was struck by his command of the English language and how patient he was with all my questions. And believe me, I had plenty of questions. Somewhere in the course of the conversation, I asked him to teach me Swahili (formally called Kiswahili) which he graciously agreed to. As I was preparing to leave, I asked how 1 person here in the U.S. (meaning me) could help a Congolese child or family. Sal's answer was immediate. Educate a child. And so, I asked the obvious - how much would it cost ? I'm thinking $500, $1000.

He said $50.
I asked, $50 a month?
He replied, $50 a year.

I said to him, "If I give you a check right now, when could these kids start school ?" He replied, "right away, I will call." I wrote him a check for $100. The intent at that time was for me to give him $50 a month. I figured that was the least I could do for free Swahili lessons.

Well then the price of gas shot up. And the economy started its decline. So what to do about the 15 kids I had pledged to help ? Yep, 15 kids. Sal had contacted Fr. Ephrem in Congo and 15 kids were in school already. The money just had to be there by June 2009, the end of the school year. I knew I had to find a way to raise some of the money.

I deliver mail in Brimfield, MA and pass recycle bins every trash collection day. It gave me an idea after I saw redeemable cans and bottles along my route. I asked a couple of friends to help out by saving their own. And Cans for Kids in the Congo was born. It was fledgling at first, but word got around. Pretty soon, I had 40 people saving their redeemables for me. On April 11, 2009, I met the goal of providing an education for the first 15 kids, though not by myself as I had originally intended.

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Our Lord said, "I have come to set a fire." I'd like to think that in me, He has done just that.

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This might have been the extent of the story. 15 Congolese children going to school every year. Me raising $750 over the course of a year to cover the cost. But when I mentioned our project to my friend Joe Pagano, I saw immediate interest in his eyes. His company, PaganoMedia created our original website, the theme of 1000 cans - 1 kid - 1 year and chose the domain name Kids in the Congo pro bono.

Sal has likened this project to the analogy of a pebble thrown into the water. It creates a ripple effect - with results we may never realize in our lifetimes. Fr. Oliver's analogy has been of the tiny mustard seed which grows into a magnificent tree. Very simply, I like both.

So where do I see this going ? Both Sal and I would like to see as many children as possible go to school. If you have read his story, you realize the difficulty these children face. It is daunting. We would also like to help in improving schools and providing school supplies, especially equipment for a physics and chemistry lab at an Assumptionist High School. It won't be easy, but with your help, we can achieve this and so much more.

Thank you for reading and for any assistance . Together we can make a difference, one child at a time.

God Bless,
Lynne