February 18, 2007, Congolese refugee Wereje Benson returned to Kyangwali from a church conference. He emailed me and told me that he wanted to build an orphanage where children could go to be loved, safe and get an education. The dream began. I visited the camp in August 2007 for my first time. I stood on the piece of land that had been donated by the UNHCR commandant. Only ant hills and bush were to be seen, but by December 2007 the building began. We received donations from Think Humanity supporters. In June 2008 I visited the camp and they were finishing the cement floor, although a lot of work still needed to be completed. We needed another $6,500 in donations. We received a grant from Global Healing in August 2008. The latrine, ceiling, foundation and livestock shed were finished by February 2009. In this picture are children that attend the COBURWAS Club Kindergarten. We now have 23 orphans and 43 students total. Pictured on the left is Lucy Zaabu, teacher at CCO.
