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History and Partners

Supporting Education and Independence in Goma, for decades

SchoolKits for Congo operates in Goma, at the Eastern Border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, between the active volcano Nyiragongo, the Rwandan border and Lake Kivu.


That might seem a surprising choice for an Australian charity.


The reason is that Alphonse Waseka Kamango, a board member of a small Goma charity (called Solidarite Bonne Volonte, or 'Bonvolo', for short), went looking for a volunteer to build a website, pro bono, and Penny Vos, from Australia, agreed to do it.


Bonvolo had already been supporting orphans and poor children in Goma since 2004, and Alphonse and Penny have been working together almost daily since 2012 to provide schooling for very poor children, and enable some of their mothers to support their families through skilled work.


We now run three Rotary Australia Overseas Aid Fund  projects together: "Mama Wimbi Sewing for Education and Independence" and "Medical Access for Central Africa" as well as "SchoolKits for Congo".

 

We could not do what we do without our wonderful partners:

  • Rotary Australia World Community Service gives us a crowdfunding page and cost-effective money transfers to Congo.
  • Rotary Australia Overseas Aid Fund gives us Tax-Deductible Gift status in Australia so our donors get a tax concession for their kindness.
  • SewAid International provides us with a safe and well-lit workshop, with electricity and water. They provided our industrial and domestic sewing machines and continue to assist us with purchasing supplies.
  • The Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile, the One Tomorrow Fund and the Australian Communities Foundation have been generous and compassionate partners over several years, helping students to stay in school and families to stay housed at times when our best plans for self-sufficiency still didn't quite make it. 
  • The UK charity School-in-a-Bag,  and the Rotary Club Goma Tumaini work with us to help children in need from time to time.
  • The Pink Umbrella Foundation gave us our very first big donation and has supported our most successful  graduate all the way through to practicing International Law at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in Arusha.

We are very grateful to all of them!