folyamatban project

1. Precedents
In the first quarter of 2008 the Foundation’s Board of Trustees decided on, that following the CARO partner orphanage, we will establish a new one. Reasons and causes for the establishment were, --while the original ideas and goals of the Foundation were being kept in sight --, to reflect and react on the need to build institutions and create spaces where we can provide quality long-term help to those in need. The principles of the Foundation as well the demands of our recipients and supporting partners oblige us to give the orphans a care that provides a chance for a real future.

2. Background information about the Congolese social conditions
Congo (DRC) is the world's seventh poorest country. A fifteen-year civil war, AIDS, Ebola and malaria decimates the Population of the country. The Congolese War started in 1998 and still going required millions of victims. The most bloodstained armed conflict after the World War II is raging in the country. The war is in the centre of the UN attention but they cannot stop it. In addition to that the Medical care is insufficient, there is no state support behind the hospitals and even the poorest have to pay for medical care. Congo is also one of the poorest states among the African countries. Although it has a lot of natural resources (copper, uranium, gold and silver), notwithstanding the UN declared it an insolvent country in 1994. Penury and indescribable need is everywhere, even the people's needs of primary importance (clean drinking water, shortage of essential foods) are not satisfied. For most of the people income through a job is not provided, 86 % of the Population is unemployed, they live on accidental jobs.

The Population grows in Congo because of the high birth rate, but many children grow up without parents. There are approximately 4.000.000 orphans living in the country. To be an orphan in Congo, is one of the worst positions to live in -.
Beside the pain of the loss of their parents, an orphan also has to face the ups and downs of life alone. Orphans, who lost their parents go to their relatives thanks to the tradition of ‘solidarity’. But it is not assured that these children find a secure home. It is typical that even the receiving relatives are very poor, because of this it happens often that due the financial difficulties of the relatives, under the pretext of leaving, they stigmatise the received children with black magic practice, i.e. they say, these children are the cause of all their problems and bad luck. Finally they simply drive them away from home. So about 30. 000 children live on the streets.

3. Relevance of the orphanage
These orphans turned out to be the poorest members of the society. Earning their living for themselves and obeying the laws of a world, -- which in practise is without laws--. They live with their fellow sufferers and scrape their days by in loneliness, hopelessness and without a shelter that can give them the safe feeling of a secure environment. If nobody helps them and intervenes in their life, a child can finally became estranged from the society, their fate? and future will be hopeless.

4. Orphan support system
The Foundation bears responsibility for the life of the eleven-children living in the orphanage and for the establishment of worthy circumstances and a secure future. It is essential that even in financial hard times the Orphanage is able to provide and finance a minimum level of care and support, which consists of meals for the children, the work of the Social workers in charge, keeping the hygienic conditions and paying the rent of the house. It is very important to keep these factors in view for the children who are living in the orphanage, which is functioning as their home otherwise they will end up on the streets. It comes as a great responsibility for the Foundation, which we would like to handle together with our supporters. We do believe that the support of an orphan is the result of a serious decision.
We ask all supporters to decide on an amount of support which he / she can afford to secure for a long-term.
The two main elements of our orphan support system:

1. Support to the everyday basic costs
2. Future Grant Found

Our own and partner organisation’s experience says, that the guarantee for success in implementing any kind of development in Africa, is sustainability and to secure the long-term positive effects.

The orphan support program should not only serve to provide the orphans with their everyday basic needs, through it we also would like to help them to start build their life’s with our help. Our goal is to provide the orphans appropriate moral and financial background, to sustain their flourishing future

1. Support to the everyday basic expenses
- Education: 21 USD / month
- Meals: 42 USD / month
- Lodging: 24 USD / month
- Clothing: 6 USD / month
- Medical care: 15 USD / month
- Spare time programmes (excursions, handicraft): 6 USD / month
- Operation (wage and administration) and development expenses: 30 USD / month

2. Future Guarantee Found
With this support the adopting parents create a found for the child's future. It can't be interpreted as an advance - saving system and it is a capital which will be put at the child's disposal in the beginning of his adult life. The sum gathered in the Future Guarantee Found is received by the orphan after his coming of age and having determined about the goal of the sum's use.
The Future Guarantee Found can also serve as a cover in the case of unexpected events in the child's life: for example a serious disease with an expensive treatment. The Future Guarantee Found can mean a life-belt as a solution of eventual difficulties affecting all the children for example natural disaster, emergency removal, travel and so on.
The board of trustees consulting with the supporter decides about the use and the payment of the Future Guarantee Found. The sum of the Future Guarantee Found is 30 USD / month.

The ways of support:

Regular Support
A parent or several adopting parents can also support an orphan. If a supporter would like to support the child alone, we ask him or her to take all the support elements on.
A supporter can pay one or more support forms (for example training and meals) at the same time. For the other supporters, the other support elements not taken can occasionally be selected.
The supporters of the same child can contact each other if they need because they are the "mutual adoptive parents" of the child.
In order to provide a stable background for the child, we ask to support the child (ren) at least for two years. If the supporter doesn't announce that he/she would like to stop the support it will be automatically continued.
We ask to forecast the stop of the support in two months advance. It's necessary because we have to find a new supporter to replace the dropping one. In order for us to reduce the risks that the child will be without support for two months.

Casual support
If somebody can't regularly or for a long-term take the support of a child, but they would like to help with pleasure he/she has the possibility to provide also casual support. We spend these supports on the actual projects connecting with the orphanage, children and missing support.
Before the payment of the support we ask you to contact our colleague in order to give information about the actual programmes.
 

Future Guarantee Found
The Future Guarantee Found is a special supporting form, so we treat it separately. We opened a special allocated banking account and we keep the paid sum for the children in a not transferable form.
It lays a heavy responsibility on the Foundation and the supporters, too. If we like the children to start with equal chances, we have to strive that the advance-savings should increase similarly for all the children. So if somebody would like to pay the Future Guarantee Found for a child we ask him to choose among the children who have a lower sum on their account until now. In the case of children not being supported actually we provide information about the sum on the account.
The payment of the support can be realised by transfer or cheque.

5. The Foundation for Africa takes on
In our monthly newsletter we report not only about the work and situation of the Foundation, but we also send a short report about all of the supported children.
Quarterly we send detailed Information and pictures from the supported children to all supporters. We help the contact with the children by mail. We make it possible to send package for the children.
The orphans can be found on the homepage under the title ‘Adopt me'. You can start your support on the homepage with the selection of the child and the type of the support.

If you have another questions relating to the orphan protecting system contact us on the next availability points:

• E-mail: afrikaert@afrikaert.hu
• Phone: 20 / 772-2279 or 06-36-1-332-1054

We would like to thank you, that you also decided on to support and help improve the living conditions of orphans!