DR CONGO: Project aims to increase capacity of health services at Don Bosco Ngangi Center
Work honors dream of Elisa Claps
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
(MissionNewswire) The Elisa’s Heart in the Heart of Africa Project is strengthening the healthcare services offered by the Don Bosco Ngangi Center, located in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo*. The country is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been ravaged by years of fighting and governed by a military group since January 2025.
The project, launched in October 2023, was created to remember Elisa Claps, a young woman from Potenza, Italy, tragically killed in 1993, and to honor her dream of becoming a doctor and working in Africa alongside those most in need.
Over nearly three years, the project, carried out by Salesian International Volunteering for Development (VIS), has adapted to the needs of the local population, maintaining the primary objective of improving health services where they are not widely accessible.
The project has met several milestones over the years. The Don Bosco Ngangi Center’s dispensary waiting room was renovated. It bears Elisa’s name and provides free care to approximately 1,200 people per month, including people who have been displaced, children who are orphaned or living on the street, and families in poverty.
There has also been increased support for a nutritional assistant who cares for youth suffering from malnutrition and a physiotherapist who provides specialized care for children with motor disabilities. The project is now moving toward building a modular clinic to complement the dispensary and respond to the thousands of requests for help that arrive every day.
Elisa’s brother, Gildo Claps, recently visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo with VIS workers. He said, “In the heart of one of the most fragile lands on the planet, I felt my sister Elisa closer than ever. Because the medical dispensary, strengthened by the project dedicated to her, is alive today. It works. It heals. There I truly understood that Elisa’s dream hasn’t stopped, that she is here.”
Claps concluded, “We hope that Elisa’s dream of becoming a doctor in Africa can materialize in increasingly meaningful projects for the people of this city.”
Salesian missionaries have been working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for more than 100 years, ensuring that the most vulnerable children are not forgotten. Salesian primary and secondary schools and programs lay the foundation for early learning, while Salesian trade, vocational and agricultural programs offer many youth the opportunity for a stable and productive future.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Democratic Republic of the Congo
UNHCR – Democratic Republic of the Congo
*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in these countries were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.
