Volunteer opportunities in Brazzaville

 

Actions de Solidarité Internationale

On March 5th, 2021, I led the delegation of the embassy personnel to the site of a French NGO, Actions de Solidarité Internationale (ASI). The American families at post expressed interest in making a donation to a worthy cause and our Community Liaison Officer (CLO) extraordinaire found this French NGO as a potential recipient of the donation. 

The organization has been in existence since 1983 when it opened its first office in Burkina Faso. The first Congo office opened in 2006 with a particular interest and emphasis on helping vulnerable girls and women who often end up on the streets, with small children.  I particularly like their motto “We are no longer needed” as to me it embodies the basic idea behind international development - to help create effective programs in the host country which can eventually be sustained by local staff and operate independently.

Our visit was a success - we got to tour the site and meet the women who benefit from social, health and educational programs offered.  In an informal conversation at the end, one girl asked what the next steps would be.  Did we just bring the donation and now we will leave them?  Do we envision some sort of cooperation in the future?  Will our help continue?  Her question stayed with me. I could not get it out of my head. 

So, a few months later, I made contact with the Director of the center and offered my services as a translator and an English teacher. 

Currently, I lead English classes for complete beginners twice a week, an hour each session.  My classroom is an outdoor gazebo with a blackboard and chalk, two longer desks and benches to sit on. The women are between ages 20 and 30 and there is a core of about 6-8 who are star students. Some are eager but shy and have a hard time pronouncing new words. And then there are those who join because they see the class is fun and they just want to be part of it but frankly their interest in the subject is low.  My students have very diverse educational backgrounds -  some never went to school, some stopped at elementary level.  Some don’t even speak French fluently, so learning English is a huge challenge for them.  In many cases, my reliable ways of explaining something simply do not work. I have to expand my horizons, try new things, find new ways to motivate my students and use new ways of teaching.  It has been a challenge but also an incredibly rewarding experience. 

For more information about the needs of the organization, contact the ASI country director, Abdoulaye Ndiaye: +242 06 688 59 64

https://www.asi-france.org/

Association Amici dei Bambini e delle Mamme di Makoua Onlus

Out of all the volunteer opportunities on this continent, orphanages have never been on my radar.  Perhaps because they are the most popular volunteer destinations, perhaps because I believe that if you don’t do something in your home country, you probably should not do it overseas and I have never considered visiting an orphanage in Poland or the US.  However, sometimes life naturally stirs you in a certain direction and that happened to me when I met an amazing Italian woman, who has a non-profit registered in Italy and manages multiple orphanages here in the Congo. 

That girl has talent!

Paola invited me to visit two out of six orphanages she currently manages. The first one was in Nganga Lingolo, a remote district of Brazzaville and the second in Kombé.  Paola chose those two because they are both fairly remote and they do not receive as much attention as the ones in Center Ville.  

Both of those visits were definite highlights of my time in Brazzaville.  I did not know what to expect and, unfortunately, I had what Chimamanga Ngozie Adichie calls “a single story” of an orphanage.  I imagined it as a sad place where children are lonely and desperate for attention. A place that will make me sad and uncomfortable. I had a single story of the orphanage…  What I saw and experienced was completely opposite. I saw loving caretakers and happy children.  I saw good planning and management of resources. No one asked for anything - instead we experienced amazing hospitality and true human exchange.

The orphanage in Nganga Lingolo is small, with only about 20 children, most of whom are teenagers. We chatted about their days, tasted the delicious juice and pastries they made and admired the drawings by one of the girls. Kids talked about their dreams, their aspirations and their passions. That is the place I am planning to come back to to teach English. It won’t be an intensive course but I feel even a few sessions with the teenagers there will be rewarding for me and hugely beneficial to them.

House in Kombé

The house in Kombé, on the other hand, is large and still expanding.  That one was built, with the help of the children, and is run by an amazing couple, Mireille and Didier, who take care of 50 kids, including six of their own.  No one would ever be able to tell which six are their biological children because the love is spread evenly amongst all 50. The strong sense of community permeates the place and our visit felt like we were visiting friends - a mutually beneficial social exchange, with no expectations and no sadness.  The children welcomed us, sat with us for a while and then most of them went off to kick the ball in a nearby field.  Some were off to the market to sell baked goods and juice, some were busy tidying up the kitchen area or tending to the animals - they raise chickens, ducks and pigs.  Everyone has a role to play and those roles are well defined and obvious.  

Mireille cultivates the land and sells the veggies she grows in the market.  For that, she wakes up at 3 a.m.!  She also makes sure the house runs well - she cooks, supervises cleaning, trains the kids in their chores and takes care of everyone.   She is a seamstress by profession, so she also runs a tailoring course for the older girls.  I am a fairly busy person but meeting Mireille made me feel like I am standing still….  I could not help but feel a tremendous admiration for her and Didier who helps her with all the work and also coordinates all the children’s paperwork with the social services and the police.  Frankly, the people who are involved in running both of those establishments with such love and efficiency in a place like Brazzaville deserve the highest praise. 

Mireille's Field

If you want to have a meaningful volunteer experience, contact Paola and arrange a visit.  Think of something you can offer the children - tell a story, teach a skill, play with them or dance….  Whatever it is I promise you will leave feeling like you contributed to their growth but also you will leave enriched by your contact with them and their amazing caretakers.

For more information about the needs of the organization, contact local manager, Paola Passera: +39 348 4458400

https://www.facebook.com/Amici-dei-bambini-e-delle-mamme-di-Makoua-78645900072/