Volunteer Shares His Love for the Children of Congo

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Note: The translation in the video above is hard to hear. Please turn up the volume on your device before viewing to hear better.

Written by Kim Crawford, associate director for Mission & Mobilization

His name is Karl. We had the pleasure of spending a little time with him when our Vision Trip team was in Gemena in June. Karl grew up going to Sunday School in the Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM). His parents modeled a love for children to Karl and his twin brother. They invited children into their home for meals and took them to church where they could hear about the love of Jesus. Karl shares this love and concern for the well-being of children in the Gemena area.

The Vision Trip and World Vision teams at World Vision offices in Gemena. Karl pictured on the far left.

When World Vision and the Evangelical Covenant Church began the Ledia Area Development Program (ADP) through Covenant Kids Congo powered by World Vision, Karl heard about the opportunity to be a volunteer and thought it matched his desire to help children. He shared with our team how much he has learned from World Vision since beginning this position a year ago. “They place an emphasis on respecting children that is new to me and not how we had thought of it before,” Karl said. “They want them to be respected as children, to be educated, and to have a hopeful future.” Karl shared about the children who he is responsible for keeping in touch with on a regular basis. They have come to know him as a friend and an advocate. They greet him with hugs and warm expressions each time he sees them because of the way he treats them and their families.

Ten years from now these children will become adults who know how to respect and care for others because they have been cared for through the Ledia ADP. It is volunteers like Karl who are the physical expression of this care. With joy in his eyes Karl reports that, “what we are doing today will be a blessing for Congo tomorrow.”