Elikya Training Center

Giving hope to the poorest in Congo

The problems

Civil war. AIDS. Polio. Trauma. Extreme poverty. These are just a few reasons why the Evangelical Free Church of Congo (CECU) faces a huge dilemma. In an area the size of Indiana, the CECU’s 900 village churches are the spiritual homes to thousands of widows, orphans, handicapped people and unwed mothers.

• Many of the widows have lost their husbands during the war, to AIDS or to other illnesses. Often they are illiterate and don’t have job skills. In this video, shared on the New York Times website, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof learned firsthand how difficult a woman’s burden can be. Watch "What Are You Carrying?" 
• Many teens lost their parents in similar ways and now as orphans fend for themselves on the streets of Gemena or in the rural villages without education, jobs or skills. Teen orphan girls are especially vulnerable.
• The residuals of paralysis from polio have left many people handicapped with deformed limbs, unable to get around on their own except perhaps with walking sticks or on their hands and knees.
• The chaos of the civil war left thousands of girls raped and pregnant. In addition, marriage customs have broken down. The terrible economy has made it very hard for young men to afford a dowry to get married, resulting in men impregnating women and then deserting them. Most of these unwed mothers have had only a few years of grade school at best and have no skills or job training.

In Congo there is not a welfare system. There are no 401K plans, no way for widows to get any social security and no help for unwed mothers who are often kicked out of their parents’ homes. Almost none of them have an education beyond 3rd or 4th grade and even fewer have gainful employment or even a skill to earn a living.

The response

The CECU leadership began praying in the 1990’s about the best way to help. Every local church had dozens, or even hundreds, of widows, orphans and other people who needed help. Recognizing they could not merely feed and provide for these people, as it would just create dependency, they needed to find a way to train those in need vocationally while ministering to their spiritual needs. Thus was born the idea of the Elikya Center. 
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In partnership with ReachGlobal, the church in Gemena, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is responding to the needs of these neglected and often mistreated people through the ministry at the Elikya Center, which officially began in 2008. In the local language, "Elikya" means "Hope."
Attending a 9-month training program, widows, unwed mothers, people with disabilities and teenage orphans are taught sewing, soap-making and other domestic crafts. Older orphan boys attend the 9-month training program to learn basic carpentry and masonry skills. Learning these valuable trades helps them to adequately support themselves and their families.

Recent Elikya Center News - see stories of God’s work

On-site housing is offered for those who have no home of their own or would otherwise have to travel for miles to attend the program. While attending classes the students are presented the truth of the Gospel by the teachers and leaders of the Elikya Center.

Serving opportunities

The Elikya leadership is in the process of developing two new fields of study at the Center: computer skills and English. The DRC is starting to have more access to computers and other technological advances. The local church recognizes the importance of training people to speak English and to understand basic computer skills. If the students at the Elikya Center desire to pursue business training, they will have the option to study English and computer in addition to carpentry, masonry, sewing and soap-making.

Given growing access to technology within the DRC, students at the Elikya Center, who desire to pursue business training, will have the option to study English and learn computer skills. ReachGlobal, in partnership with the Elikya Center, is looking for individuals willing to live and work in the DRC at the Elikya Center for 2 weeks to 3 months. Individuals will work with and help train the Congolese teachers how to:

• Teach English
• Teach Computer Skills
• Develop curriculum in the following fields of study
  o carpentry
  o sewing
  o masonry
  o soap-making
  o raising livestock
  o simple accounting
  o business skills
  o spiritual life/Biblical study

All short-term team members will be under the supervision of ReachGlobal staff working and living at the Elikya Center. Work alongside the Congolese church and ReachGlobal to develop, empower and release Elikya students through this relevant and life-changing ministry.

• 1-3 months short-term: download the application. You will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to be able to fill out the application.
• Under 1 month short-term: contact elikya@efca.org.

Other ways to help

• Provide funds to help build the remaining training buildings.
• Equip the facility with tools, sewing machines, supplies and teaching tools.
• Help with one-time, start-up gifts for graduates — tool kits for the carpentry graduates; hand-cranked sewing machines for the sewing school graduates, etc.
• Pray for the CECU in this huge ministry, praying that many lives will be touched and that they can demonstrate the compassion of Christ as they help the most needy.

More information

• Contact Elikya@efca.org
• Learn more about Ministry in Congo