Chantal, fourth from left, with Kim Crawford, right, and family.
“They are like my own children,” said Chantal speaking of the 110+ registered children that she is responsible for with the Covenant Kids Congo powered by World Vision Ledia Area Development Program (ADP).
Chantal grew up in a Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM) church. Her father was the head nurse of a CEUM clinic in Bumba, the town where she was raised. Now, she lives in the Bokonzo neighborhood of Gemena with her husband and two young daughters. She graduated from university years ago and has been active in the church her whole life. When she heard that World Vision was looking for volunteers to help with the Ledia ADP, she decided to submit her application.
Chantal with her daughter.
She was selected along with 32 others from CEUM churches in the Gemena area. They went through 20 training sessions in order be prepared to work with the registered children and their families. Chantal has more than 110 registered children she is responsible for – some are sponsored and some are not. It is her job to know these children and keep in touch with the families. She visits each family once a quarter and checks in with them. She makes sure the children are going to school and helps the family find income sources if they are not able to pay school fees. From time to time she helps families get medicine for their children when they are sick.
“I do not know all of the children by name yet,” says Chantal (10 months into the program) “but I know all of their faces and families. They walk through my front yard on the way to school and run up to talk to me as I go through the neighborhood.”
Chantal, along with the other volunteers, is directly caring for and ministering to the children and families of Boknozo. Through the Covenant Kids Congo powered by World Vision, she is the hands and feet of Jesus to these children and their families.
