Our goal is to build a new school by the Fall of 2011. This school will accomodate the 300 plus students that currently meet in. Currently our 5th and 6th grade classrooms meet in bamboo walled, tarp covered, leaky classrooms. The rest of the children meet on dirt floors sourounded by walls that used to surround a mechanics shop.

After having traveled to the Congo and researched the cost of constructing such a school, the total cost to put our students in a proper facility will be $40,000 dollars. In order to fundraise this much money, we have decided to start a campaign called BUY A BRICK. For every one dollar donated, you can buy 1 brick. When we sell 40,000 bricks, we will have raised enough funds to construct the school.

For the past nine years, we have successfully operated a primary school in the Bukavu region of the DR Congo. Local Sowers of Hope leaders have established sustainable businesses in the Congo in order to help fund the school. These businesses are also used as a platform to teach vocational and business skills to the students. Also, with the support of several local businesses in America and a team of university student volunteers, our organization has established a steady source of revenue to help subsidize school expenses and teacher’s salaries.

This model allows SOH to not only provide immediate stimulation to the local economy, but also it ensures the continuing viability of the community, as it invests in the education of its children. Sowers of Hope focuses on improving both the short-term and long-term social conditions of its community.