Past Projects
Explore here our past projects and contact us at info@needyouinternational.org for more information on our ongoing and future projects, or visit our Donate page.
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In 2024, Need You International supported the Franciscans sister de Notre Dame du Mont, who aids in the educational and health sectors in Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Local families have many difficulties and they cannot afford the 20$ fee a month for their children’s school transportation. The order of Notre Dame du Mont educates the children of these families, who walk 5km each way to get to school, even with the rain.
Need You International supported this project through the acquisition of a school bus that transports for free students to and from the school. The Bus Project offers multiple daily trips for all the 75 students and each trip transports 25 children.
Read here for the project's description in French. SCHOOL BUS PROJECT (2024)
Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
TOILET PROJECT (2024)
BUKAVU, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
During construction
Located on Michombero Avenue in the Kadutu district, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Bukavu, the Notre Dame du Mont School Complex was established to educate children from low-income families, particularly the children of police officers, who made up the majority of the student body. With our support, the school was able to create beautiful classrooms filled with warmth and love, and to this day, this organization continues to support us.
In the year 2023-2024 the Notre Dame du Mont School has opened its doors to children from kindergarten to secondary school with a total of 992 learners.
The school had to operate with only 5 hygienic cabins for all the children, Need You International partnered with Notre Dame du Mont School and its volunteers to add 6 more hygienic cabins in 2024 to the school with a total of 11 toilets.
BATWA SCHOOL PROJECT(2023-2024)
Nyabututsi, Burundi
The project “Soutien à la scolarisation des Batwa du Collège Nyabututsi” takes place at the Burundi au Collège Michael Aidan Courtney (MAC) in Nyabututsi Gitega, the political capital of Burundi.
Burundi is one of the poorest East African countries, with 11,8 millions inhabitants and it is one of the densest populated in the region. Burundi has been characterised by instability and violence, which have exacerbated the already precarious conditions of the population. The lack of liquidity in foreign capital has led to a reduction in imports of medicine and fuel, while on the black market, the national currency continues to devalue. As a result, one in two people in the country suffers from food insecurity, while only 5% have access to clean water and electricity.
The Batwa, an ethnic group representing 1% of Burundi's population, is a community still heavily discriminated against within the country itself. This community is recognised by the national constitution as the third largest ethnic group, after the Hutus (85%) and the Tutsis (14%), but it is a minority without any rights. Most are illiterate and live in very precarious housing and, with the decline of traditional sources of income such as hunting, ironworking, and pottery, this population survives through begging.
Need You International supports the program objectives of promoting education as a tool for developing personality, friendship, dialogue and tolerance between ethnic groups living in Burundi, through workshops organised in the afternoon.
The organisation aided with the replacement of mattresses, beds, and blankets in the children's dormitory to ensure their health and well-being, allowing them to study in good conditions, eat and sleep comfortably without worrying about the cold. Need You International supported the reallocation of 15 hours per week of tutoring and homework support in the following subjects: literature, mathematics, and languages. We also supported the project in its aim to strengthen friendships and the ability to help one another.
The Project supported 150 children at the school, 15 educators who received training, 30 children who live near the school, and at least 120 parents participated in the intervention, with a total of 285 people. The indirect beneficiaries are numerous, including all the family members of these 285 direct beneficiaries.
Read here for the project’s description in French.
The state intervenes through public social inclusion programs; for example, it guarantees free primary education for children up to the age of 13, and free healthcare for children under 5. Despite this, the Batwa do not benefit from these programs because they are not registered with the local civil registry. Due to extreme poverty, the Batwa drop out of school and marry young.
The majority of Batwa do not send their children to school for lack of basic needs: they do not have drinking water, some days they go without food, they have no clothes and no homes, they live in straw huts and their books are not protected from the wind or rain. Often, children start school after the age of 7 with the help of associations or religious organisations; unfortunately, under these conditions, adults do not understand the importance of school.
In 2002, the Institute opened a boarding school that now houses 150 Batwa children, who are guaranteed to remain in school. Located in Nyabututsi, a district on the outskirts of Gitega province, the boarding school welcomes ethnic minorities children from across Burundi. These children attend public schools in the city of Gitega alongside Hutu and Tutsi children, thus promoting their integration.
SCHOOL PROJECT (2022)
NIPPES, REPUBLIC OF HAITI
The Republic of Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world; the vast majority of the population lives in tin shacks and lacks basic infrastructure. Malnutrition affects more than a million people.
Need You International was contacted by Father Prosenl Altidor, parish priest of Our Lady of Mercy in the diocese of Anse-à-Veau and Miragoane, Nippes, about 100 kilometers from the capital. The priest, after describing the disastrous situation of the community where he works, informed us that the school attended by 187 children is in very poor condition, its roof destroyed by bad weather and lacking sanitation facilities.
The Republic of Haiti was struck by a devastating 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August 2021, and as the UNICEF report indicates, more than 250,000 children still lack access to adequate schools in 2022, some of them are in Miragoâne.
Need You International remember that school represents not only a place of education but also a haven of peace. We therefore contributed €2,000 towards the construction of the school roof on May 30, 2022, that was donated directly to the Parish of Our Lady of Mercy in Miragoane.
SEWING LAB (2018)
Nganda-Yala, Democratic Republic of Congo
In the orphanage of “Saint Raymond” in Nganda-Yala, 60 km from Kinshasa, the Church of Saint Raymond opened a sewing lab and atelier for young women and mothers, often illiterate, to learn the skill of sewing in order to sustain themselves and their children. Need You International supported the project through the Church of Saint Raymond with the donations of vital materials such as sewing machines, instruments, and computers.
The project aims to facilitate access to education for marginalised girls, including single mothers and abandoned children, to combat ignorance and empower them to contribute to tomorrow's society. Need You International supports the LAB to find a means of self-financing for these impoverished girls, to provide them with vocational training that matches their abilities and raises their educational level, and to serve as role models for the predominantly female population of the area.
We worked together the Church of Saint Raymond by preparing the space for the vocational training center, purchasing sewing machines, accessories, tables, shelves, cabinets, books and other literacy materials.
Read here for the project’s description in French.
