Through our Safe Haven program in Democratic Republic of Congo, livelihoods training is strengthening communities and pointing people to Jesus Christ.
In a small, mirror-lined training room in Mungwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo, half a dozen hair dressers are filling the space with laughter and conversation. Among the cheerful bunch is a woman named Bagambe, who smiles and chatters amid bouts of concentration.
The Safe Haven program provides women with a safe space to gather and to learn life skills.
She’s skillfully working a young lady’s hair into long, tightly fashioned braids, a popular style that makes hair and mornings infinitely more manageable. For Bagambe, the work has created more meaningful hours, in which to connect with other women while learning a trade that could help her feed her family.
After her father died several years ago, Bagambe says everything came to a standstill in her life.
“After that, we had no money to pay for my schooling,” she said. “I had lost hope. We had trouble even finding anything to eat.”
Bagambe came with her mother to Mungwalu so the two of them could start over, and the young lady got connected with Samaritan’s Purse through our Safe Haven program.
Through this project we provide vulnerable populations—many of them women and children—with safe spaces where they can find solace, connect with each other, and also learn useful skills to meet the needs of their family.
The women form new friendships, learn hair dressing and sewing, and also learn from the Word of God.
During the six-month training program, Bagambe and the other hairdressers will learn the necessary skills for styling hair, budgeting their income, and how to run a successful small business. Most important though is that they are taught from the Scriptures, instructed in study and prayer, and are given opportunities to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
“I didn’t know how to pray, but now I have started to pray,” she said. “I didn’t get along with my neighbors, but now I have a good relationship with them. Now when I hear or read the Word of God, I have emotions I never used to have.”
And through the close-quarters work of hairdressing, especially the intricate task of fashioning each millimeter of hair into braids, Bagambe has opportunities to bless others with the love of Jesus that she has, herself, chosen to embrace.
“I want to be a virtuous woman.”
Now she desires to pursue a Godly life in all that she does.
“I want to be a virtuous woman,” she said. “My favorite verse in the Bible is Proverbs 31:10. A virtuous woman will be blessed by God.”
