What We Do
At Restore Elikia, we strive to transform the lives of orphans, widows and the vulnerable in our community. Our Approach…
Orphan Care
We believe children thrive the most in families, so Restore Elikia runs a non-traditional “orphanage” that functions as a small village. A widow lives with 5-6 orphans in individual homes, and the whole group comes together for meals, education, and fun. All of the children’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are being met. These amazing kids are healthy, growing well, and succeeding in school. We cannot wait to see the stories unfold that He is writing for each of their lives!
We at Restore Elikia also strive to educate and support any family members we can identify for our orphans. We ensure regular family visits between aunts, uncles, or even distant cousins and the kiddos. We aim to reunify children with their family of origins whenever possible!
Widow Care
In the DRC, when a woman’s husband dies, her home, possessions, and land all go to the husband’s family. Too often, in this place of scarcity, the women are then left with literally nothing. They rely on begging or working in the sex industry to feed themselves. Restore Elikia actively takes a stance against this. We have 4 widows who live at Restore Elikia full time and serve as house mothers to our kiddos or who are in charge of cooking and laundry.
Restore Elikia also runs a Women’s Enrichment Program for vulnerable women in our area. This year-long course covers various topics so women learn valuable tools to help their families thrive. They are learn about health and nutrition, basic literacy, job training, and business management. At the time of graduation, all the women will receive micro finance loans to start their own businesses. They are mentored along the way by previous graduates who help encourage and support these women actively working to change their lives and the lives of their families. More than 300 women have completed this program since its inception.
Forced early marriage and sexual violence are all too common in the DRC. These girls generally drop out of school and have limited knowledge of how to care for themselves and their children. The cycle repeats itself when these children grow and are left with no other options themselves. Restore Elikia has a year-long comprehensive educational plan for these teenage mothers. These classes cover everything from childhood health to family planning to job training. Teen moms are also mentored by older women throughout the year.
Community Development
Fresh water is a lifeline in rural Africa, playing an indispensable role in sustaining communities and their livelihoods. For many rural households, access to clean water not only signifies health and sanitation but also influences their daily productivity and overall well-being. The lack of consistent and pure water sources often translates to arduous journeys, primarily undertaken by women and children, to fetch water from distant places, compromising their safety. With this in mind, one of Restore Elikia’s first projects that was provided for the community was drilling two wells to ensure the availability of fresh water for socio-economic development, improved health outcomes, and the overall progress of surrounding communities.
Restore Elikia agriculture projects continue to combat the Hunger Season in our village. We average 30-45 families that participate by farming in our fields and bringing home cassava, pineapples, rice, and greens to their families (with a small % of their yield coming back to feed the widows and orphans at Elikia village). We also have 75 functional fish ponds that these vulnerable families help to take care of. These ponds have provided more protein than we ever dreamed possible. We continue to harvest around 200 pounds of fish every one to two weeks, with much going home with each worker and the rest feeding our kiddos and widows at Elikia Village.
On average, 100 children from vulnerable families are able to continue school each year thanks to educational grants from Restore Elikia. Around the globe, many children with families enter orphanages simply because those families can’t afford the required school fees. We believe that education changes everything. It is such a joy to be provide a way to keep these kids in their families AND give them a chance to dream of a future. Restore Elikia continually drives to develop leaders to help the local community grow and flourish.
Breastfeeding Foster Care Program
If mothers die in childbirth (one in seven in our region!), the infants often die as well since bottles and formula are not available and few families have a relative able to feed the baby. Restore Elikia’s Breastfeeding Mother’s Foster Care Program meets the needs of these babies. Foster mothers in the program receive a small stipend to buy extra nutrition and medications and in exchange foster an infant whose mother died during childbirth. Once the babies are able to eat regular food, they are reunited with their biological families. Over 30 infants have been saved by this program so far. This whole idea is completely counter current to the culture in our area, but has been embraced by the women that serve. We believe this is a testimony to the hearts and minds of people changing as they see others love and value these little lives.
Restore Elikia Loseno School
In January 2023, the Restore Elikia primary school opened. The goal of the school is to provide low class numbers, highly qualified teachers, and access to necessary supplies for the kids in our region with the most potential but no other hope of a good education.
At the school, in addition to our traditional elementary classrooms, one additional classroom for deaf students has been included. We aren’t sure why, but deafness is common in our area. These kids have never ever had an opportunity to go to school or communicate in a structured, formalized way. These beautiful souls TAKE OFF as they learn French Sign Language! Signing progresses rapidly and each one of these kids is like a shining light as they experience their world opening up in front of them.
Families for Families Campaign
Each year in December, Restore Elikia launches our Families for Families Holiday Campaign. Purchases made by donors go directly to needy families in our area. Oftentimes this is chickens, goats, or pigs. Other options include agriculture supplies, books for children, microfinance loans, or medical support of a sick child. We often raise more than $20,000 in support that goes directly to families during this campaign.
