Another recognition adds to the other awards the Bon Pasteur Kolwezi program has received over the years for its impact in protecting children and young people from violence, exploitation and child labor in the mining communities of Kolwezi, DRC. Last November, the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria awarded the “Austria.On.Mission ‘EMIL’ Award 2022 – Hero of Charity” to Sister Jane Wainoi, director of the Bon Pasteur Kolwezi program, for her commitment together with sisters and partners to fighting modern slavery, violence against women and girls and child labor in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Since 2013, through an extensive program that integrates human rights and community development, more than 5,000 children have escaped dangerous work in the cobalt mines and have gained access to education, food and healthcare.
People in Kolwezi feel like poverty is their destiny. What we are trying to do is to bring them hope and tell them that there are other opportunities, that life can be better than it is today. – Sr. Jane Wainoi
Watch the video and listen to Sr. Jane’s words on how the program is breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, abuse and violence
Learn more about the Children Not Miners program
