Our Children of Liberty (ex-child soldiers) project, in partnership with Comfort Congo, got off the ground with the first ex-child soldiers being sponsored in 2016. It is a project that has constantly blown us away with stories of breakthrough, new hope, transformation and lives being rebuilt on the firm foundation through the love and kindness of Jesus.
These last few months have seen many of these amazing young people, who have been part of the project for up to 6 years, move into independent living with huge hope for the future. Over and over we hear the stories that show us just how much the project has borne fruit. The heart breaking stories that we heard of loss, brokenness, hopelessness, trauma and horror when these young people arrived on the project have become stories of hope and wholeness, which without the love of Jesus and the team at Comfort Congo, we could only have dreamt of.
Our partners, Comfort Congo, have asked many of the recent graduates three questions. The answers from several are detailed below. The questions are:
1. How do you feel now compared with the day when you entered the project (referring to emotional recovery from the trauma)?
2. How have your activities changed and what is their impact in your present life?
3. What is the impact of God in your life?
There is a new intake of 27 young, ex-child soldiers onto the project. We pray that their stories will be similar as the time goes on. If you would like to become a sponsor please contact the Comfort International office or sign up on line. In the meantime read and rejoice with us!
DIDIER
At this time I live in joy, the peace in my heart has returned and the bad memories have disappeared from my brain. I received the money from Comfort Congo on leaving the Children Of Liberty programme and the business of selling clothes that I started is going very well. With my profits I bought a motorcycle, and now I have the aim of buying some land for a home. It is thanks to God that my life has sense today and I will remain thankful towards Him for all my life.
OBEDI
To be someone who took a person’s life one day is to be someone who lives with nightmares every day, but the COL programme changed my life positively. Now I have become a good person and I asked God to forgive me for all my previous sin in life and for all of the transgressions I have done. Today I am healed and I love life. With regard to my activities; thanks to Comfort International financing after the obtaining my high school diploma I have learned joinery and today I am a woodworker. This activity allows me to live well. I also have a project to begin selling small fish from Uvira-Goma because it is an activity that brings a lot of money.
God is everything to me. He helped me overcome all the difficult tests in my life and thanks to his forgiveness I have hope of a better life after my death.
PATRICK
I had never believed that one day I could laugh with other people and could be loved but it was all possible when I was welcomed to the Hope Village in the COL project. It is for that reason that I understood that God is love and he needs me. When I received money from Comfort Congo to begin a new life I didn’t know how to do business but I bought two goats that have now multiplied into four more goats. Unfortunately one of these goats died following an illness. I have also sown beans and cassava in a field of 50 meter squares that I rent annually. The money from the field at the time of the harvest allows me to provide for my needs and I have paid for my learning at the driving centre.
God’s impact in my life is immense. He gave me a home to live in, I became Christian, something that was not possible in my previous life, and before doing anything I pray first with God for his protection and he’s always there to guide me.
MICHEL
My previous life was a pain that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Hope Village was for me a place of personal rebuilding for my life. The COL project was my new life where I had the opportunity for a second chance and now I have become someone who loves life and I believe that I will have a better future.
Now I have become responsible and able to look after myself thanks to the money that I received from Comfort International. With half of the money I received I opened a barber shop and the other half I lent to people for their use and after that they will repay it with profits. In short, my activities are going well and this allows me to provide for all my needs and to live better. Since I joined the COL project I have the impression that it is God who called me there and that’s why I sing today at the church. This gives me comfort and courage to be good to people that surround me because this is God’s will for my life.
BOHAZI
Believe me living in the bush is like being a living dead. To be admitted to the COL project was for me a new, fresh start in the world. Today I am at peace with myself and I fully live my life with peace in my heart. After obtaining my high school diploma, I received money from Comfort Congo to start an activity which will allow me to be able to provide for my needs and to be financially independent in life. I have begun a project of selling cards and credit for different telecommunications networks as Airtel, Orange and Vodacom Mobil. Today my activities are growing because I have also begun to sell Sim cards. My business is going well and this allows me to provide for my daily needs without any difficulty.
Oooh, God is everything in my life because he was the pillar of my positive change and he healed me of injuries of my previous life. I have become a big singer at the church and that is thanks to His accompaniment in my life.
NDOOLE
Before becoming a beneficiary of the COL project, I had lost all hope of having a great life because I was vulnerable. Also when I was admitted to Pam Jackson House I had some negative thoughts about men. Today I don’t have this fear anymore because I have understood that not all men are bad. My life is better than before because here at Pam Jackson we live like a family and we help each other, we have mutual understanding and we live like sisters. This gives me joy of living happily and in peace. My activity of selling clothes at Virunga Market is going very well because today my business is growing and since Comfort International increased my capital I am able to buy two bales of secondhand clothes. This allows me to be autonomous financially. I am no longer a beggar on the street because thanks to my business I am capable of providing for my needs.
God has had a positive impact in my life because I understand that prayer is the only weapon of a good Christian. While believing in God we have everything that we want and today thanks to Him I am respected by people today.
a little can change a life