For more than seven years, Belmont UMC has been a faithful supporter of the Mama Lynn Center in the Congo, a program dedicated to serving abused women and their families. Through this partnership, Belmont has helped provide essential resources such as sewing machines, cooking supplies, and medical care – tools that restore dignity, independence, and hope to those rebuilding their lives.
In recent years, the Mama Lynn Center identified a new and pressing need: education. Leaders at the Center requested assistance in building a schoolhouse on their campus so that qualified students could receive a high-quality high school education. The proposed schoolhouse included three classrooms and was intended to expand opportunities for young people connected to the Mama Lynn programs. This request was approved not only by government officials but also by conferences and churches within the East Congo Episcopal Area.
Belmont UMC responded generously and enthusiastically. Through ongoing communication with Dr. Marie Claire, Director of the Mama Lynn Center, the congregation stayed informed on the project’s progress for more than a year. In total, Belmont UMC and other donors gave over $60,000 to construct and furnish the schoolhouse. Throughout the many phases of construction, photos were shared to document the transformation from vision to reality.
Today, the completed Mama Lynn School House stands as a powerful symbol of partnership and shared mission. Students and counselors at the Mama Lynn Center have expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Belmont UMC for making this dream possible. In one moving expression of thanks, students gathered in front of the Center to sing a song of gratitude in the Otetela language. The Rev. Bill Lovell, who grew up in the Congo and continues to speak Otetela fluently, has translated portions of these songs so that Belmont members can fully appreciate the depth of their thanks.
The Mama Lynn School House is more than a building—it is a testament to what can be accomplished when compassion, generosity, and faith come together to change lives.
