Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) — In 2010, a senior United Nations official tagged the Democratic Republic of Congo as the “rape capital of the world.”
Five years later, not much has changed. But, LIFE International and its in-country partners are offering options to those at-risk.
Kinshasa’s harsh realities
Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
(Photo credit: Irene2005 via Flickr)
According to Daily Nation, at least 48 women are raped every hour in the DRC. Of these victims, 13% are younger than 14 years old, 10-12% contract HIV/AIDS, and 3% die as a result of the sexual abuse.
Due, at least in part, to the widespread prevalence of rape in DR Congo, thousands of abortions are performed annually.
“Many young women are left on their own, are forced to have abortions, are not given the training and education they need; and there are so many women…who need that message and that hope of Jesus Christ and life,” LIFE International‘s Vice President of Mission Advancement, Melinda Delahoyde, states.
With this mission in mind, LIFE International began partnering with Pastor Nubako Selenga and his wife, Claudine, five years ago. Together, they aimed to carry the sanctity of life message into Kinshasa and, eventually, throughout the nation.
On-the-ground, this dream takes shape in many forms, including facilities called “Tabitha Centers.”
“Tabitha Centers are an opportunity for young women to come, to hear the Gospel, to gain life skills–job skills that they’ll need,” explains Delahoyde.
“What LIFE International brings to each of these young women, through the trainers and the people that work with them, is the sanctity of life message.”
Since 2010, Claudine Selenga has started 40 Tabitha Centers in and around Kinshasa, and approximately 1,000 at-risk women and girls are finding new beginnings.
Next year, with God’s help, Selenga want to open 20 more Tabitha Centers in Kinshasa, serving at least 700 women and girls.
One of the babies saved through work of Tabitha Center and LIFE International.
(Photo courtesy LIFE International)
Goals include:
- Putting a Sanctity of Human Life Coordinator in place in Kinshasa.
- Equipping 100+ staff members of the Tabitha Centers with the sanctity of life message.
- Providing pro-life resources for each Tabitha Center leader and participant.
Will you be a part of making these goals a reality?
“When it comes to the life message, and when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are ALL at one table, together,” Delahoyde says.
You can help by praying, sowing, or going.
“Be part of the global life movement. Bring real hope and real help, because every prayer and every gift to LIFE International helps save a life around the world.”
