Beni School for the Deaf, D. R. Congo (K – 9)
Our Beni School for the Deaf has approximately 60 students enrolled. Many are teenagers who have never been to school before. Around a quarter of our students have lost one or both parents through war or disease such as Ebola.
In 2022, we expanded our facilities to include a secondary school. This is the fulfilment of a dream to ensure our students can go on to higher education and/or meaningful employment.
Minova School
Our newest school, the Minova Deaf School has 64 students attending, 30 of whom stay at the school. Facilities are extremely basic and the 7 staff work with the most limited materials.
Self-Sustainability Projects
In 2020, we initiated a self-sustainability program at the Beni school. This involved purchasing three lots of farmland to grow crops. The purpose of this program is four-fold: to provide food for the school lunch program, to educate the students in horticulture, to provide employment for graduates of the school, and to provide an income for the school community. Within 9 months, all objectives were being achieved.
A similar project was started at the Minova school to give the students at least one good meal a day and to try to meet the same 4 objectives as the project in Beni. The farm is growing potatoes, beans and maize.
Ministry in D.R. Congo
In a challenging and often violent environment, six churches for the Deaf have been planted that minister to 350 people each week. Evangelists are continuing to take God’s Word to new Deaf communities each week, and our Director and staff regularly baptise new believers, run Bible studies, officiate at weddings for the Deaf, and teach sign language.
