Update: May 2011

Dear Mike, Annabel, Shyla and Tamsin

Thank you for making a donation to support Henri Ladyi’s work to build peace in Congo. Unfortunately due to an outbreak of fighting in the areas where Henri works, 90,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and because of this Henri has been prioritising his work to escort people to safety and he has not been able to start the teacher training.

“Over 80% of children escorted were unaccompanied”

Henri has helped 2158 people to return to an area that had previously been torn apart by fighting, but today is relatively safe. Over 80 per cent of the children escorted were unaccompanied, having lost parents and family in the rush to escape the fighting. Without Henri’s help people have to travel at night, forging paths through the jungle so they will not be seen or heard - not knowing if where they are heading is any safer than where they have come.

Henri has set up task forces who escort people to areas that they know are safe, and when they arrive the task forces help to settle people, find foster families for children, build relationships with the existing communities and form co-operatives so that people can farm and find ways to support themselves.

“A school to give them hope for the future”

The people said that what they wanted most was a school to give them hope for the future. Henri helped the community to find the funding, by going to faith groups, by asking elders, by lobbying aid agencies and together they have built eight classrooms. 650 children are attending the school – it is a squeeze, but it is a beginning. They have called the school Kanana, after the place that many of them were taken hostage by the militia, so they will always remember how precious this peace is.

All of the teachers are currently working voluntarily, so we have used your support help these children go to school (it costs £15 for each child to attend school for six months). The picture above shows three of the children in this area - one of them isn’t quite old enough for school yet, but with your help we can hope that when he is, he can attend this school of hope.

Thank you so much. 

Helen and the team at Peace Direct

Everyone in the See The Difference office was incredibly moved by this extraordinary feedback from Henri at the frontline in the Congo. Whilst it meant the project couldn’t go ahead as planned, the charity has written to each of the supporters for their permission to use their support differently.

Part of the See The Difference service is that if a project doesn’t go ahead as planned we, together with the charity, will ask your permission to use your support differently.

... and we’re wishing Henri and his team the best of luck.

Nicola & The See The Difference Team