Key points:
- The United Methodist Church built the Mama Lynn Center to give hope to abandoned, stigmatized and vulnerable women in eastern Congo.
- Since 2019, the Mama Lynn Center has trained 675 women and enables dozens each year to learn trades to ensure their economic reintegration into society.
- A United Methodist delegation from the U.S. visited recently, strengthening the partnership for mission with eastern Congo, particularly the center.
- Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda called the center “a gift from God,” emphasizing that lives are being transformed every day.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, vulnerable women and girls trained at the Mama Lynn Center can provide for themselves.
The east is a war-torn region where many women have been marginalized and deprived of educational opportunities. The Mama Lynn Center provides training and hope for a better future.
The Tennessee-Western Kentucky and California-Pacific conferences of The United Methodist Church, along with the East Congo Episcopal Area, contributed funds to build the center for self-care of vulnerable, stigmatized and abandoned women.
“Since its creation, the Mama Lynn Center has set itself the mission of transforming lives through training in literacy, cutting and sewing, soap-making, entrepreneurship and spiritual support,” said Dr. Marie-Claire Manafundu, center director. These programs aim to restore confidence and autonomy to women who are often marginalized, paving the way to economic and social independence.
Since 2019, the center has trained 675 women, enabling dozens each year to learn trades to ensure their economic reintegration into society.
Many of the women who have attended the center testify to its profound impact on their lives. Mama Rosalie Osongo excelled in biscuit-making, Bibiche Omba in bread- and doughnut-making and Elisabeth Tshomba in soap-making.
Osongo, who once had no job prospects, is now a pastry expert. She trained at the Mama Lynn Center in 2020.
“Before coming to the center, I had no knowledge of pastry-making. My husband was killed during the rebellion, and I was left abandoned with my three homeless children, and the only refuge was the local church. Today, I make quality cookies, which I sell on the local market,” she said. “Thanks to this training, I’ve been able to secure a stable income for my family and gain in confidence. The Mama Lynn Center has given me a new chance.”
Omba has developed expertise in baking and confectionery. “I discovered my passion for baking, thanks to Mama Lynn. Learning to bake bread and doughnuts has enabled me to launch my own small business and provide for my children,” Omba explained. “I no longer depend on others to survive, and that fills me with pride and self-confidence.”
Tshomba has turned her apprenticeship in soap-making into an entrepreneurial opportunity. She trained at the Mama Lynn Center in 2022.
“I always wanted to learn a trade that could make me self-sufficient. Soap-making became a real vocation for me,” she said. “Thanks to this know-how, I make and sell handmade soaps, which has enabled me to improve my standard of living and that of my family, and today I’m a soap reference in my neighborhood.”
Last September, a delegation representing the Tennessee-Western Kentucky and California-Pacific conferences visited the center, where the guests were greeted with song and dance.
The U.S. delegation — comprising the Rev. Birgitte French and her husband, Niels French, the Revs. Robert Martin and wife Amy Martin, and interpreter Linda Boulos — spent a week in the East Congo Episcopal Area’s Kindu North and South districts. The aim of the visit was to assess the progress that had been funded by the U.S. conferences and to consider possibilities for future support. The visit was characterized by intense sharing, mutual learning and celebration.
During the visit, the United Methodist delegation was able to see firsthand the impact of the center on the lives of women. Rev. French said she was moved by the center’s impact.
“We’ve heard about the Mama Lynn Center,” she said. “We’re honored to be with you.”
The delegation visited some of the women who have completed their training at the Mama Lynn Center in their activity sites and workshops.
United Methodist Bishop Gabriel Yemba Unda emphasized the importance of the center.
“The Mama Lynn Center is a gift from God made possible by your generosity,” he said. “Thanks to your support, lives are transformed every day.”
With training that enables women to reinvent themselves and take their future into their own hands, the Mama Lynn Center remains a pillar of development and emancipation for stigmatized and abandoned women and girls in eastern Congo.
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For Judith Osongo, deputy director of the center, this initiative transcends borders.
“Your presence among us is an inexplicable sign of love,” she told the delegation. “You have made history with eastern Congo through the Mama Lynn Center.”
As the center continues its commitment to vulnerable women, its beneficiaries hope the project can continue to grow and impact even more lives.
“I hope the Mama Lynn Center initiative continues, that it doesn’t stop, because the center teaches us many things in life,” said Marie Miango.
The mother of three children, Miango, 24, embodies the impact of the center.
“When I went to the Mama Lynn Center, I didn’t know how to read, write or sew clothes, but today I’m independent and I live with my whole family,” Miango said during the delegation’s visit. “I give thanks to God, which is why I hope the Mama Lynn Center can move forward to help us women become independent and useful in society.’'
Londe is a UM News correspondent in Congo.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digests.
