FUTURE HOPE AFRICA: WHO WE ARE

Our Story

Bintu escaped war and starvation in her homeland. Then she returned to help it rebuild.

After war devastated the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 1990s, many of its citizens desperately wanted to leave. But Nabintu (Bintu) Mujambere sought to return. Her passion – and partnership with international friends – led to the creation of Future Hope Africa.

Bintu grew up in a war-ravaged border region called Bukavu in the late-1990s. She and most of her family escaped from rebels by walking more than 400 miles through the jungle north to Kisangani. They endured starvation and harassment by rebel militias before ultimately emigrating to Nairobi, Kenya. Her family stayed for a year as war raged across the DRC.

In the early 2000s, Bintu moved to Belgium to attend the University of Mons, pursuing a degree in French education. During her studies, she attended International Baptist Church in Jurbise and befriended several American expatriates in the fellowship.

The return

As Bintu continued her studies, her thoughts were never far from Bukavu and the families suffering there, especially the children. While most young people who left the DRC to attend college never returned, Bintu envisioned going back to use her newfound knowledge to improve education and life for the people. Her church family was enthusiastic and a support group formed to provide financial and prayer partnership.

As security and stability slowly returned to her region, Bintu traveled to Bukavu in 2008 to begin the process of opening education centers there. She and a small team tenaciously worked through bureaucratic indifference and hostility and opened two centers:

• One to assist teachers in improving their French instruction.

• The other to help students with homework and to tutor them in French and Swahili.

Bintu formed Education Asbl, a Congolese non-profit organization, to fund and support these centers and other works. The fledgling project soon blossomed as word spread. She hired additional teachers and began outreach to schools to form partnerships in the community. The number of children using her after-school center quickly increased.

Meanwhile, her American friends recognized the need for an organization to provide sustainable financial resources. In 2012, they began work on a U.S.-based non-profit to support E-Asbl and its expansion. In 2013, the organization officially became Future Hope Africa, Inc.

Since then, the organization and its impact on the community has consistently grown. Its work now includes:

• Free after-school tutoring

• Scholarships

• Youth clubs promoting faith, character and environmental stewardship

• Focus Business School training for aspiring entrepreneurs

• Microloan financing for entrepreneurs

Friends and supporters have arisen around the world, inspired by the transformation that’s occurring in Bukavu.

As the Bible verse that inspires our work states, we believe the best is yet to come.