Written by Nagifi Sademoke; edited by Leanna Cappiello
Right after they were married, Aimé and his wife, Bébé, started living with her parents in the northwest Democratic Republic of the Congo. This was intended to be a short-term arrangement, but because of their financial difficulties, their stay turned out to be much longer than expected. "We [were] there for 10 years,” Aimé says.
The cramped house hampered the quality of life for the family throughout the years, especially when children came. “We had no choice. We were all confined in a room where there were no windows. The children often became ill,” Aimé adds.
With more responsibility and little income, the temporary solution started to resemble a long-term problem. But when one of their sons—seven-year-old Jean—became a sponsored child, things began to look up for the family.
Jean and his siblings now have books and toys to play with to improve their growth and development. Photo: World Vision
“The gifts sent from my sponsor allowed my parents to buy two plots of land where they built a house, with two rooms and a lounge," says Jean with pride. "Before, we shared the same room with our parents. Now, we are healthy and we sleep easily," he adds.
Help a hardworking family provide for their children. Invest in a small business.
The sponsorship gifts also helped cover the children’s education and even some new clothing.
But this isn’t the only thing that’s changed for Aimé’s family. Bébé, Jean’s mother, also joined an income generation group, supported by World Vision, where she learned how to purchase and breed pigs. “We have six pigs now,” Bébé says proudly.
A new house means a new place to call “home”. Victory over poverty is possible. Photo: World Vision
The gifts from sponsorship and these new income opportunities have freed Jean to live a better life and aspire to a brighter future. “I would one day like to become a teacher,” he says.
Sponsorship not only changes the life of a child, but the life of a family. "We thank World Vision and all the sponsors for their goodwill,” says Aimé, “their contribution is transforming the life of [our] children.”