The Vision for Bolingo Village Pt 1
Bolingo Village, March 2019
Bolingo Village has been a dream of ours for years - we have worked tirelessly to make it a reality, and we’re so grateful that kids are growing up in a community of love and support. We have already implemented a large portion of our vision - but we’re not done yet.
So many amazing people have joined the GOF family and helped to make our dream a reality. In thanks for that, we want to share more detail on our ultimate vision for Bolingo Village. Thanks for joining us for part one of this series - part two will be added later this year.
Families. The cornerstone of our vision is that we provide a space where families are created. We employ widowed women, licensed as foster moms, who have few other prospects in DRC. These women are the pillars supporting this community. Our foster moms are the rule makers and enforcers, the boo-boo kissers, the co-pilots on imagination fueled trips on space ships, and - most importantly - each child’s advocate. Mom’s will be a haven with trauma-informed discipline, love, and structure, where children belong, and a family bond is created.
The children that call Bolingo Village home are orphaned children that would otherwise grow up in overcrowded and underfunded orphanages. Orphanages in the city are often small compounds with little room to run and play. There are rarely enough beds for the children living there, and the extreme food insecurity leaves children undernourished. Typically, there is a caregiver to child ratio of 1 to 50.
Every family around the world is different. They develop their schedules, traditions, and norms; Bolingo families are no different. However, there are things that all Bolingo families have in common: school attendance, room to run and play, siblings, nutrition, clean water, and love. Read on to learn more about the structure we’ve put in place to compliment the loving homes we’ve created in Bolingo and the vision behind the project.
Bolingo kids playing soccer, October 2019
Access to school: According to UNICEF, 7 million children aged 5 to 17 are out of school in DRC. Culturally, those that are considered gifted students are pushed to apply themselves and succeed while others aren’t encouraged. Not in Bolingo Village. All of the school-aged children living in Bolingo Village attend class every day. They all have access to homework help when they return home as well. At the end of every quarter, we determine what incentive will be set to motivate every child to apply themselves.
Room to run and play: Kinshasa, the capital city in DRC, has a population density of 2x that of New York City. Kids do not have room to run and play, especially downtown, where these kids would have been sent to local orphanages. Bolingo Village is home to a spacious community center, a playground that will continue to be expanded for years to come, and space where a soccer field will be. The kids still use the area to play soccer; it’s just not fully functional yet!
Siblings: Anyone who grew up with siblings knows that while you may pretend to hate it, you learn a lot about life. Bolingo Village children will learn how to disagree, how to make up, how to love, trust, and grow. We’re creating a support system and safety net, providing children with a family unit of people to stand up for them and with them for the rest of their lives.
Bolingo children eating lunch on the back porch, February 2020
Nutrition: While we know that proper nutrition is not a magic bullet to a happy and healthy life, no one can argue that it’s vital. According to UNICEF, in traditional homes in DRC, nearly one in every two children under five suffers from chronic malnutrition or stunted growth, affecting brain development and immune function. Worse than that, 1 in 10 children in DRC is severely malnourished and in danger of death. We imagine that these numbers get even more alarming if anyone was testing orphaned children in traditional orphanages.
Bolingo Village is different. In 2020, we will serve at least 20,490 balanced meals to the children living there. These meals allow children to get to and maintain a healthy weight. Our doctor completes a monthly exam to monitor their overall health, but she keeps a keen eye on their weight. We are also enacting quarterly nutritional testing through blood work to confirm further that they’re getting all the nutrients that their little bodies need.
Clean Water: 33 million people living in rural areas of DRC do not have access to safe drinking water. Every day, women and young girls must walk to the Congo River to collect water for their families. For those near Bolingo Village, this journey takes an hour and a half each way, and most women have to go to the river twice, which means 6 hours of each day is spent just simply collecting water. Water that is not clean. Water that carries diseases. Water that can make their children sick.
Bolingo Village provides a well (with one more planned for the future) and a rainwater catchment system that provides clean, safe drinking water daily to the residents of Bolingo Village and the surrounding community. Our water sources are tested regularly to ensure it’s safe.
The vision for Bolingo Village is one of love. Of kids being kids and not worrying about food, or getting sick, or for their safety. Of kids being and truly feeling loved and at home. There are so many things that we have put in place to create this environment, but it naively boils down to happy children.