NOELLA IS WORKING TO END POVERTY FOR YOUNG MOTHERS

Noëlla Thindwa Congolese Children for the Future

Noëlla Thindwa started with a dream to improve the lives of teenage mothers in Kinshasa and to help curb their chances of living a life of poverty. This dream prompted her to create Congolese Children for the Future, an NGO that trains young single mothers on how to start and manage a small business.“If you give these girls a chance, you can stop poverty,” Noëlla said. “When girls have safe places to meet and access to training and job skills, they can thrive. And when they thrive, everyone around them thrives too.”

Noella shows some of the products the young mothers make

Noëlla’s dream has grown from an idea to a vibrant, supportive and successful enterprise that allows young moms to gain enough for their families and bring positive change and development in their communities. In the past year she has also been able to train over 185 young women, 50 of which are now running small scale businesses that cater for their families. Noëlla also runs a nursery with 178 children and 90% of these children passed their annual exam and proceeded to the next level in 2014. All this has been made possible through the financial support and mentorship of Tigo and Reach for Change experts and advisors.

The young women learn a variety of skills such as hairdressing and sewing

Impact story: Ornella, joined Children for the Future two years ago, as a young 16-year-old mother. Ornella who is now 18, holds a sewing workshop that trains young women how to sew clothes. Besides becoming great fashion stylists of Matadi and Kinshasa, the support of Noella’s program has propelled these vulnerable girls into entrepreneurship.

178 vulnerable children supported in the creche/ nursery

90% of the children passed their annual exams & proceeded to the next level

185

young women were empowered and learnt skills they now use to support their children to grow and develop healthily.

50 of the 185 can now sustain a business