Tenant Spotlight: The Shalupe Foundation

In 1998, The Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R. Congo), formerly known as Zaire, saw the beginning of the Second Congo War, also known as Africa’s World War. Still recovering from the First Congo War in 1996, the country became highly destabilized.

While the war officially ended in 2003, many areas of the country still suffer violence, femicide (sexual violence against women), child slavery, desperate poverty and a lack of medical care. Refugees arriving in the United States are faced with significant language and cultural barriers when trying to build a new life here.

Creating a Lifeline for the Children of Kinhasa

Since the early 1990’s, “Mama” Jeanne Ngondo had been caring for the street children of D.R. Congo’s capital city, Kinhasa, helping them with clothing, food, education, and a place to stay and be loved.

But by the end of 2000, the number and needs of the war victims coming to her had grown overwhelming. It was time to form an official foundation, to pool resources and obtain funding to cope with the increased need. Thus, the Shalupe Foundation was born. Shalupe means “lifeboat” in French, fitting Ngondo’s goal: the foundation would be there to save the citizens of a sinking country.

Programs in the United States and D.R. Congo

The organization has 2 primary areas of focus: in the United States, the goal is to guide and assist refugees with referrals to obtain access to housing, healthcare, education and employment. In the D.R. Congo, things become more complicated: nonprofits there face a demand for a wide variety of services.

Shalupe’s Mireille Tushiminina offers an analogy: “In the United States, if you deal only with apples, and someone brings you potatoes, you can direct them to the people who deal with potatoes. In Congo, if you deal only with apples, and someone brings you potatoes, you must deal with the potatoes, too – there is no other place to send them.”

Ngondo continues: “You never know, each morning, who will arrive and what they will ask for – money to pay for a birth or medical care, food, clothing, supplies.” In addition to assisting war victims in the D.R. Congo with basic and immediate needs, Shalupe helps Congolese to build new lives for themselves at home: microfinancing, education and advocacy are important facets of the organization’s work.

Awareness: "The World Needs to See"

Probably the most striking thing about the situation in the Congo is how little international attention it receives. While the most pressing needs of Shalupe include funding and volunteer assistance, the wish often expressed by both Ngondo and Tushiminina is for more awareness. The Congolese feel that the world has forgotten them. “The world needs to see, to pay attention to what is happening in Congo,” Tushiminina says. “It has been too long. It is time.”

Finding the NonProfit Center

The Shalupe Foundation discovered the NonProfit Center while searching the Internet for nonprofit resources. They found that the center’s Shared Space Community perfectly suited their need for an affordable, accessible office space.

Also of great value to them is the NonProfit Center community: “When you come to this country, you may think you know how a nonprofit works, but it may actually work differently,” says Tushiminina. Their NPC neighbors have also helped them to network in the nonprofit sector. “We feel very blessed to have found the NonProfit Center.”