Family strengthening program empowers family of eight to thrive

When ethnic cleansing reached their village of Djugu, Maurice and his family were forced to flee their home. He took his wife, Jeannine, and their six children to Bunia, and while the family was safer there, they were also like most internally displaced people (IDPs): vulnerable.

Our local church partner invited Maurice and his family to participate in Father’s Family. Drawing on what they learned in the program, Maurice and Jeannine set a goal to save some money from their casual labor work in people’s gardens. With those savings, they hoped to purchase a second motorcycle for Maurice to use to operate a taxi service that would increase their income and help improve their lives.

To help with their goal, Maurice received a hoe as an incentive from the Father’s Family group. Soon after, the couple purchased a second hoe using money they had managed to save. Previously, they paid to rent the tools they needed in order to work in the gardens, but by owning their own tools, they did not have to spend money in order to work and could even rent out their tools to bring in more income. That decision increased their weekly savings tenfold!

Their hard work paid off and Maurice was able to get – and recently pay off – a loan from the Father’s Family group to purchase a second motorcycle. As a result of their various streams of income, Maurice and Jeannine have been able to send their four oldest children to school and move their family into a rented hut outside of the IDP camp. Achieving their initial goal has completely transformed this family, and now Maurice and Jeannine are working on their next dream of buying land!