Serving Kinshasa and surrounding areas
About Kinshasa
Kinshasa, formerly called Zaire (Leopoldville), is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Area: 3,848 miles.Population: 15 million Founded: 1881 Education: primary education must be paid. Language: French and Lingala ( official languages) Recognized national languages: Kikongo; Swahili; Tshiluba; Social Class: 2 different classes; rich and poor. The rich are very rich and the poor are very poor. ( poor spend $1 per day). Culture: Fun, love music, dance, sport (soccer) and fashion . Food: A lot of fish, vegetables, nuts , beans, rice, plantains, some meat and fruits, etc. Drinks: Coffee, tea, hard liquor (home made) beer etc. Diseases: Malaria; Yellow fever and outbreak such as Ebola.
Community Checklist
- Partnering with doctors in local hospitals who can talk with parents
- Working with professionals in the community to communicate the facts about Autism
- Educate pastors in local churches that Autism is neurological disorder, not a curse
- Create Autism awareness through radio and television ads
- Establish an Autism diagnostic center
- Showing teachers that children with Autism can learn – but they learn differently
Working with the local church…
Bring awareness through media, churches, workshops etc. It is often to the churches that families affected go to pray the devil away from children with Autism and just drop them off never to return for them. It is however a very complex subject because a lot of pastors take advantage of parents financially while they pretend to pray for their kids. Yet it also easier to get the word out through churches. If the people hears on TV, from Drs and churches and see that they can improve a bit, it will probably change their mind.
Early Intervention
This is a crucial step to improve the chance maximize the potential and better integration into the society.This may help recognize Autism as a disability not a curse. With all the services they maybe able to see the growth.
Training Local Experts
Usually a rich African family will hire an expert aboard to work one on one with a child affected. However if we had this, a multidisciplinary team can be put together to assess, diagnose, and develop an individualized educational plan( IEP) for each child, because no children with Autism is alike.
Help us help them…
The Painful Story of PlaMeDi
“A Blessing from God”
I want to tell you about a sweet boy named PlaMeDi. When PlaMeDi was born, everyone in the family was excited to welcome his arrival. His mother was overjoyed. His father was proud to pass on his name, PlaMeDi Ngoyi. The family was excited about their blessing from God.
Something was ‘Different’…
However, something about PlaMeDi was…different. The family noticed, over time, that PlaMeDi didn’t behave like the other children in the village. He would flap his arms, stare intently at different objects. He would cover his ears and rock back and forth. His family didn’t know what to do. When he was 3, the family sent him to church for a 21-day fast in hopes that he would begin to talk. Though this did not help.
His family was frustrated. This frustration turned into abuse. By age 5, PlaMeDi was beaten constantly. Anything that went wrong within the family became hisfault. He was cursed. He was evil. He was a sorcerer; a complete disappointment to the family. Because of this, the family believed, he had to go.
In hopes of chasing the evil spirit out of him, the family would throw buckets of cold water on him over and over again. The family, after being disgraced by their fellow villagers, threw PlaMeDi out of the community.
Childhood Homelessness because of Autism
At 7 years old, PlaMeDi was homeless. He was alone without anyone to care for him.
No child should be left out on the streets because of autism. By supporting our work,
you can help improve outcomes for children with Autism like PlaMeDi. Stock Photo
Here’s How You Can Help
Autism Congo works to fight homelessness among children with Autism by offering educational services for families. We believe structured classroom environments will allow children with Autism to gain the life skills and coping tools they need to thrive…and help their families learn to provide the supportive home environment necessary for children with Autism to flourish.
But we can’t do it without you. By donating, you are helping us acquire the resources to build a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo for children with Autism.
