Africa’s First World War
30 years of uninterrupted conflict
One of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world
6 million dead
27 million of food insecure
4 million children lost at least one parent
What poverty does.
For thousands of children of East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the most-likely future consists of poverty, violence, abuse, disease, no food, no clean water, no education, potential abduction, forced into military
But there is good news for them:
We provide
Shelter
Three meals a day
Decent clothing
Healthcare
Education
Leisure For children and guardians
Our first house
Although almost in ruins, my family home is the first we were able to make available.
It can accommodate about ten children and their guardians.
Founder
Marie-Françoise Lusembe
I was born in Uvira.
During three years of escape and survival, I was confronted with the horrors of unspeakable slaughter.
I promised myself that, once in a safe place, I would do all what I can to help.
Switzerland gave me shelter. I am now medical assistant at Lausanne hospital CHUV.
I founded Astralbina, a charity, to help children of Uvira escape violence, hunger and illiteracy, and devote all my free time to it.
Vision
Astralbina is entering its professionalization phase, for which funding needs to be raised
| Phases | Inception | Professionalization | Expansion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | <2024 | 2024-2026 | After 2026 |
| Children | 11 | 30+ | As much as possible |
| Food | Purchased | Purchased + farming | Farming |
Cost transparency
Supporting a child 100% represents 200 USD per month
| Item | USD | % | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 1’003 | 41% | 3 meals per day (cost to go down when farming starts) |
| Shelter | 373 | 15% | Based on rental after 11 children |
| Education | 270 | 11% | Including extra-English lessons |
| Leisure | 255 | 11% | Subscription to dish-TV, computer |
| Clothing | 100 | 4% | |
| Healthcare | 91 | 4% | |
| Overheads | 333 | 14% | Including monitoring visit and guardians pay |
| Cost per year per child | 2’423 | 100% | |
| Cost per month per child | 202 |
Board
Astralbina is supported by
Dimitri Panayotopoulos (1951-2024), born in Tanzania, Africa
Saad Harti, born in Morocco, Africa
Dimitri was Global Vice-Chairman of Procter & Gamble
Saad heads a biomedical research company
Our supporters
Dimitri Panayotopoulos
and family
Support Us
Contact us
Marie-Françoise Lusembe
mariefrancoiselusembelukambala@gmail.com
+41 79 709 48 76
+41 77 813 12 49
Rue Léon Michaud 4
1400 Yverdon
Switzerland