If all goes well May 20, there may be a few more smiles in a country ravaged by war and poverty.
St. Daniel Catholic Church is hosting ‘Junk-In-a-Trunk Sale? from 9 a.m. to noon in the church parking lot. Shoppers are invited to browse the trunks for those sale items from which all proceeds go to help an orphanage in the Congo.
The ‘Junk-In-a Trunk Sale? is organized by a group of five families as part of the Family Intergenerational Religious Education (F.I.R.E.) group, said Springfield Township resident and St. Daniel parishioner Jean Rawe.
According to Davisburg’s Anne-Marie Kupe, who was born in Congo and is a member of St. Daniel, the orphanage was forced to downsize from helping 300 to about 30 orphans over the last few years.
‘We can say in Clarkston we are the only support. They don’t have enough money so they have to downsize the orphanage,? said Kupe, who explained a war in the eastern part of the Congo has virtually shut down parts of the country and increased the number of children in need.
‘Everything we collect here goes into food, education and care. We get all the details for what they do with ever dollar.?
The shortages have forced the children to be sent to alternative lodgings away from the orphanage via long journeys that often prevent the kids from focusing their attention on education, said Kupe.
The orphanage is run by the Sisters of Mary, a group which was instrumental in helping Kupe earn her education which includes a Ph.D. in microbiology and a masters in nutritional science.
‘It’s harder for them to finance (the orphanage), but they are really good sisters,? said Kupe, who along with her husband Joachim have helped international relief organizations provide humanitarian aid around the world for 20 years.
The orphanage is an example of what frustrates Kupe about her native country.
‘It’s a country with potential and rich minerals, human resources and talented people. What bothers me is the international community is just watching people kill people,? said Kupe.
She sighted the occupation by Rwanda and Uganda as a cause of political instability and the exploitation of Congo’s mineral resources by multinational corporations as obstacles to improved conditions for the natives of Congo.
According to Kupe, St. Dan’s has helped with the orphanage since approximately 2002.
‘Many times we come across a worthy cause and feel compelled to help raise funds. Often times, we raise the money and feel good about it and go on with our life. Working on this project with the Kupe family is about more than just raising money. Because of the Kupes? personal connection to the orphanage and their hard work in communicating to the St. Daniel Community how the money raised was used, we are all able to feel a more personal connection to the children of the orphanage,? said Rawe.
St. Daniel Catholic Church is located at 7010 Valley Park. For more information visit www.stdanielclarkston.org or call 248-625-4580.