Fesser and Friends
Center for Hope
Mission Statement
Fesser and Friends is an American-based non-profit organization with the mission of advocating for and providing monetary support to a children’s shelter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our focus is to ensure the safety, psychological and physical well-being of children affected by indiscriminate violence in Eastern DRC.
We Need Your Help
Here at Fesser and Friends we help feed, shelter, educate, nurture, love and provide safety for fifteen incredible children who have lost their parents and loved ones to war and violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Without this center and without your support, many of these children would have been left to survive on the streets, putting them at risk for trafficking, famine, disease recruitment into militias, or even death. As our local staff member and orphanage director Freddy often says, "this place is the last resort, without us I'm not sure these kids would still be here today."
$10 Monthly Contribution
Strength In numbers is the easiest way to help us maintain our operations
One Time Donation
Donations can range anywhere between $5 and $5000. Any amount helps and we are truly appreciative of any and all contributions.
What We Are Doing To Help
In the midst of ongoing war, disease and poverty, we at Fesser & Friends Center For Hope have teamed up with the local Goma-based NGO, World Hope Givers, to create a small yet dedicated safe haven for children orphaned by the ongoing violence ravaging the East of the country. At our center we are isolating our children from violence and conflict by providing them with a safe and nurturing environment where they can thrive, play and grow.
Working together with WHG we help identify and care for high-risk children by sending locally trained staff into areas affected by war and disease. We have managed to identify hundreds of orphans that are at high risk of becoming malnourished, abused, and/or recruited as child soldiers by rebel forces. In order to ensure that everything runs smoothly the center is being directly monitored by the locally staffed and operated organization, WHG.
At our new center we now house, feed, love, educate, and care for eleven of the highest risk and most destitute orphans we identified, you can read their stories here. In order to ensure the safety of the children we house, our center is guarded and protected by 24/7 security.
These children are being given a new chance in life and there is no one to thank but you: our donors. You are the only reason our mission could turn into a reality and we are beyond proud to call all of you our friends and family. Whether this is your first time visiting us or are a regular contributor, we thank you for your support and encourage you to get involved in our work.
For the kids, from the world,
Fesser and Friends
Impact on Children
The children of the DRC are unknowingly caught in the eye of the storm, and are the main victims of the DRC’s instability and ongoing violence. Children in the DRC face a number of insurmountable problems and life threatening challenges.
The UN Children’s Agency estimates that 13 million people across the DRC lack access to adequate food and over 1.3 million children under the age of 5 are believed to suffer acute malnutrition.
Many are injured or killed as a result of the armed conflict while those who survive are often orphaned or recruited into armed groups as combatants and sex slaves. The number of child soldiers across the world has increased 159% since 2012, with the DRC abducting the second highest number of children in 2018.
Estimates suggest that 8 to 16-year-old-children make up 60% of combatants in the DRC. Those released from armed groups are often shunned by their home communities and not welcomed back.
In the Kasai-Central province in the country, 400 schools have been attacked and at least 260 destroyed, robbing an estimated 150,000 children of their chance to receive education. The World Vision produced a report in 2018 titled ‘Will you hear us? 100 children in DRC tell their story’ about how violence in the region has impacted their lives.
“History will judge us by the differences we make in the everyday lives of children”
Nelson Mandela
Please Donate!
Bring Change
Your support will provide clothing, housing, nourishment, education, medical care, security, therapy, counselling, and most importantly love for the incredible children at our center.