DR Congo: Order offers haven for disabled children

Source: Fides

Children with physical disabilities, mental illness or learning difficulties in DR Congo are rejected by family and excluded by society. There is no network of public facilities for them. However, one particular order - Guanelliani Fathers (Servants of Charity) are dedicated to caring for them.

Brother Franco Lain said: "Care for disabled children is an important part of our charism." It began in the early 2000s when the order was working with street children in Kinshasa. "We offered them care we tried to reintegrate them into the family or to make them self-employed through work," Br Franco said. "Some of these children suffered from mental disorders related to trauma (accidents, beatings, etc.), epilepsy and poverty. But families rejected them and it was difficult to reintegrate them into society.

The living conditions of the children were terrible, Br Franco said. "Traditional beliefs and some of the Christian sects in DR Congo say children like this are possessed by evil spirits and bearers of misfortune. They get beaten. Sone have been burnt alive."

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are only six psychiatric hospitals with 500 beds. There are no doctors and nurses: there are only 34 neuropsychiatrists and 33 psychiatrists. Almost all these mental health professionals work in the capital, none in the rural areas.

The Guanellians have a community at the Plateau de Bateke, 100 km from Kinshasa in the countryside. They began by taking in a group of disabled children, and doing rehabilitation work with them. Currently there are 25 young residents.

The Guanellian Fathers welcome the children who are frightened and fragile: "It is necessary to assure them an environment that transmits serenity and trust. The place where we welcome them has no walls, there is only countryside. The people who take care of them treat them gently. In this way, guests feel at home. "

Once they are settled the children learn different jobs. "We try to understand the aptitude of each one and to get them to start the activities they prefer: agriculture, livestock, crafts. They are small jobs, but help them to regain confidence, trying to reintegrate them into society."

The Guanellians are still decided how to develop their work with the children. "We are planning to cultivate the fields around the community and build a flour mill", Brother Franco said. But things are very much at the planning stage at present. The nation's political and social situation does not offer the guarantees necessary to create something new.

"We hope that the near future will give us more stability that will allow us to continue our ideas", he concluded.

Read more about the Guanellians here: www.piousunionofstjoseph.org/guanellian-family/

St Pope John Paul II gave rhe following address to the Servants of Charity in 2000: https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/2000/jan-mar/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_20000129_don-guanella.html