In Democratic Republic of the Congo, young people displaced by violence are learning new livelihood skills and about the new life offered through Jesus Christ.
Joel, a young carpentry apprentice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, struggled early on to make a single armchair. But over the course of a 7-month training program provided by Samaritan’s Purse in Bunia, he gained confidence and now can construct a variety of them.
Joel also has learned to make many other useful items while in our Safe Haven program. Samaritan’s Purse created the project to assist displaced and vulnerable Congolese—especially women and children—who arrived in Bunia to escape violent conflict that erupted across the country.
Before Safe Haven, Joel was one of the many kids who roamed the streets of Bunia working odd jobs to provide for himself and his family.
Displaced children are learning carpentry skills to help provide for themselves and their families in Bunia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We were going downtown to help people in exchange for money,” he said. “That’s how [Samaritan’s Purse] found us. And we were selected for this training. This has made us very happy.”
SKILLFUL WORK HONORS GOD
Through the carpentry apprenticeship, Joel learned about Jesus and how hard, skillful work is a blessing to others and honors God.
Carpentry is a way for young people to rebuild their lives and look toward the future.
“This work will help my future,” Joel said. “By mastering this I’ve become a greater value to my community and family. I ask Jesus to give me more courage to work and for the strength to do it with more determination and with intelligence.”
Joel now earns a steady income and is able to provide food and other basic necessities for himself and his parents—and he’s optimistic about the future. “One day I hope to open my own workshop and employ others.”
Joel’s spiritual life also has greatly improved since the training. He now regularly reads the Bible and prays, strengthening his relationship with Jesus. He has formed new connections with his colleagues and is grateful for the sense of community. And he’s become a role model in his village, inspiring other young men to seek God and see their lives changed too.
Blessed by God Through the Work of their Hands
Over the past five years, Safe Haven, in partnership with local churches and schools, has provided training to hundreds of young people teaching them skills in sewing, hairdressing, carpentry, shoemaking, and more.
These skills will also give them a trade they can carry with them where they settle in Bunia or elsewhere.
These skills allowed many of them to start their own small businesses, and many of these skilled Congolese have left resettlement camps and settled in other parts of Bunia or surrounding towns in Ituri Province.
Junior is another recent graduate of the carpentry course and has established himself in a new job completing projects for a growing number of clients. His masterful work with wood has not only given him meaningful work, but is enabling him to provide for his family, including helping his siblings continue to pursue their education.
“Samaritan’s Purse helped me a lot,” Junior said. “I was able to find a good job, and I’m able to do everything with excellence. Through this, God has blessed us again and again.”
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).
Carpentry apprenticeships with the Safe Haven project also provide opportunities for them to learn about Jesus Christ and about honoring God through the work of their hands.
