We currently have 8 unsponsored children in our Child Rescue and Development Centre in Goma, DR Congo. Why not contact FreeToBeKids and make a difference in one of these kids lives?

“The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a source and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation, much of this trafficking occurs within the country’s unstable eastern provinces and is perpetrated by armed groups outside government control.” (CIA World Factbook)

The Goma Child Rescue and Development Centre was established in 2010 to rescue, shelter and set free children living in extreme situations of, or at risk of, abuse and exploitation.

Most of the children entering our Goma home are orphaned, unschooled and starving. By taking them into care we are providing them with a chance at a good future.

The support that sponsorship provides assists with food, accommodation, utilities, general living expenses, and a chance to enroll in the local school or participate in vocational training.

Child Sponsorship is just $45 per month.

Many children in India have no idea which day they were born and how old they are.  Here in our Kolkata Child Rescue and Development Centre we have decided to make it a high priority to celebrate each child!

Recently we celebrated the birthdays of 6 of our Kolkata kids. It was a great day with games, decorations, cake, sweets, gifts and a reminder that each one of them are special and worth celebrating!  One of our newest girls (pictured below) especially enjoyed the day.  For Nisha, there will never be an official record of her birth because she was abandoned by her parents when she was very young.  However from now on her birthday will be set as the date she was rescued and given hope for the future!

Thanks for your support, Jeanette Thompson.

This week Jeanette Thompson (Kolkata project coordinator) had a little car crash on the way home from the airport. She’s fine but our poor car is not so lucky! Our rescue vehicle will be out of action for a few weeks!

This is the story of two nursing friends who ventured to the FreeToBeKids Child Rescue and Development Centre in Kolkata, India.

We set off midnight the 1^st June prepared for nothing, expecting anything.  Many hours later and not much sleep after we arrived to the beaming smile of the only westerner at Kolkata airport at the not-so-convenient time of 2am.   We embraced Jeanette with much relief and headed to the home.  It was then, observing out the car window and hearing the unfamiliar sound of constant horn beeping we looked at each other and said ‘what have we gotten ourselves into’.  During the noisy, bumpy, hot ride back we relived our experience getting there and went to bed for some much needed sleep.

Waking a convenient 3 hours later we were keen to get up and check the place out!  So we headed to the main hall to be welcomed by 17 beaming, excited children and realised ‘this is what it’s all about’! They individually introduced themselves to us and continued to natter on about each other, school and life in an unfamiliar English/Indian language of which we managed to decipher little, but the smiles on their faces and giggles to each other was all we needed anyway.

It was then onto the first of many scrumptious meals prepared by Dennis the cook! We were orientated to everyone and everything by Jeanette then headed to the markets for some Bollywood style outfits.  The bathroom we relieved ourselves at in the city almost convinced us to get back on the plane!  But the market experience made up for it and we then started to realise we were set for the adventure of a lifetime and both felt at ease having Jeanette as our fearless leader advising us every step of the way!

Once kitted out in our new apparel it was back to the home to get into the painting, our main objective of visiting.  The kids all wanted to help out but they soon retreated to their Lego and fun games.  By the first afternoon we had sweated about 5L each but had made a small dint on the painting and were excited about what we could achieve.

The next couple of days consisted of sweat, paint, chats with Jeanette, happy smiling/singing children, curries, rice, oh and more sweat and paint! After a few days of hot, testing painting the 3 of us headed for some tourist time in the city.  It was fantastic to spend some time amongst the hustle and bustle of everyday Kolkata.  And when touring around the city it’s hard not to feel compassion for the Nation and the people in it.  There’s suffering almost everywhere you look, but there’s a lot of hope too, there seems to be more aid and help for those in poverty than say 20 years ago.  And despite the way people live they seem happy and content with what they have.

So after a day of touring, markets, food and attention it was back to the home.  Again, we were lovingly welcomed by the smiling, happy faces of the kids.  As the week goes on Jeanette reveals some of their backgrounds and stories of where they’ve come from and situations they were in.  It’s devastating and upsetting what children in this world are subjected to, but when you hear them constantly singing and laughing, you can’t help but feel utter joy and thankfulness for the work that is being done.  You constantly think ‘these are the lucky ones’, and without FreeToBeKids, Jeanette and their supporters, the place wouldn’t exist.

Finally, we had completed the finishing touches to the painting in the main hall and kids bedrooms and made a start on the beds and gates.  We now had an opportunity to take the kids on an outing; our destination was a new shopping mall and Pizza Hut!  After safely arriving at the mall with all children still awake and no reported incidents of vomiting our next obstacle was the escalator.  None of the kids had ever seen, let alone stood on one! We caused quite the scene getting 17 freaked out kids up 3 sets of escalators. But eventually with much observing from all and some kind help from random strangers we arrived at destination Pizza Hut!  After digging into 20 pizzas they washed it down with sprite and ice-cream then headed back to the home exhausted, overwhelmed and very content!

We had then come to the end of our amazing journey in Kolkata.  We weren’t excited about saying goodbye to the kids, staff and our friend for life Jeanette!  After many attempts from the kids to convince us to stay and a long, procrastinating hug with Jeanette our goodbyes were over and we headed back to the airport at another not-so-convenient time, along the noisy, bumpy, hot road.  We said goodbye to Binu and headed back to Aus!

This trip to the FreeToBeKids Child Rescue and Development Centre in Kolkata was not only an amazing cultural experience, but also a fantastic opportunity to witness a great work in a country that undoubtedly needs it.  I’d been on these types of trips before and had a great time, but for me this had been something more.  When you place yourself in a place like Kolkata with the atmosphere experienced at the home it harbours opportunities for change in your own life.  These trips aren’t for everyone, but if you think it’s for you then get fundraising and make it happen.  Alternatively, get behind your friends/family who are keen to go or those already on the ground like the amazing Jeanette Thompson and let’s see more kids rescued, sheltered and set free.

Written by Bec Francis.

CLICK HERE to listen to a recent interview Kolkata project manager Jeanette Thompson had with the ABC in Brisbane.

We recently partnered with FreeToBeKids and took a team to the Child Rescue and Development Centre in Kolkata.  This was a life changing experience for our entire team. The team on the ground are phenomenal. The sacrifices made by all involved to see these kids rescued and set free from prostitution and slavery is truly inspiring.

We worked at the home painting all the bedrooms with bright colours, building a new bedroom, sandpit, vegetable garden, sealing the kitchen roof and other various small jobs.

Combine the work, heat and humidity and the relief of an all-in water fight was imminent. Ingredients for a successful water fight included a water soaked tarp, shampoo, water hose, buckets and water balloons.  Everyone was drenched within minutes; this was a very welcome distraction and break from the heat of Kolkata in May.

The children who have been rescued were all in hopeless situations that would have led to a life of sadness and despair, but now they have a home and a family.  They all attend the local English school down the road and now have the same opportunities as other children with families.  This is an experience you cannot afford to miss!  You can impact these precious lives as we did. Join an active missions works team in 2010.

Written by Chris Peterson, Planetshakers City Church Melbourne

The great work at the Kolkata Child Rescue and Development Centre is continuing. This week we are building a new septic system thanks to some generous Australian donors.

CLICK HERE to view a thank you clip filmed at the FreeToBeKids Child Rescue and Development Centre, Kolkata.

Building. Fun. Giving. Loving. Painting.

After just 4 months in our Kolkata Child Rescue and Development Centre the change in these sisters is evident. Thank you to their sponsors for making this possible!