Crying for a Bed

An update from GO Africa’s Executive Director, Dr. Alison Barfoot:

Rose (right), GO Africa’s Facilitator for Local Church Partnerships, speaks French and Swahili in addition to English and her mother tongue, Rutooro. So, she is GO Africa’s main communicator with our partners in Bunia, Congo, where French and Swahili are spoken, in addition to a variety of local languages.

Eight children were just admitted into care in The Father’s House in Bunia. Bunia is a regional center in northeastern Congo, but has been hit hard over the last 12 years with ethnic conflict and other regional violence from various militias fighting for one reason or another. In the end, it is usually the women and the children who suffer the most.

Francois (below), one of the new children at The Father’s House Bunia, lost his parents and closest relatives in one of the conflicts. He moved from house to house in the town, sleeping in the outdoor kitchens of Good Samaritans, longing for the love he saw in their homes, a place and a family to call his own.

Rose came into my office the other day to tell me about her recent conversation with the Coordinator of The Father’s House in Bunia. “When the children saw The Father’s House,” she told Rose, “they cried.” “Why?” I asked, supposing that they might miss their guardians or relatives.

“No,” Rose said. “Because they had their own bed.”

The next day we got an e-mail from the Bishop saying, “We are so excited about the children.” I think it’s mutual!