Welcome to One Small Step

One Small Step is a grassroots organization founded at the kitchen table of an adoptive mother of two Congolese-born daughters in 2009. After visiting and meeting the children in orphanage care she promised to come back to America and spread the word about the plight of the children and their desires to go to school; an impossibility without outside intervention. One Small Step volunteers choose to believe that change is possible and that educating this generation of children can – and will – positively impact the future of the Congo.
The mission of One Small Step is to provide orphanage assistance and educational sponsorship for the children of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire, the world’s poorest country.  DRC has been ravaged by civil war for over a decade. Millions of children are now war orphans. Without outside help these children live – and die – in the streets. Since its inception in November 2009, the organization has raised enough money to send more than 30 children to school, clean up a huge trash pile directly behind the property, provide three meals and vitamins for the children of the orphanage each day and to provide new mosquito nets, anti-malarial medications, hygienic products, clothes, shoes and school supplies to all of the children living in our original orphanage, Our Lady of Joyful. In 2011 we will be starting a new building fund for a larger facility and taking on sponsorship of another orphanage in Kinshasa.

The philosophy behind One Small Step is that people genuinely want to help but often do not know how to get started or mistakenly believe that what they have to offer is not enough to make a difference. We are here to help by collecting and distributing funds to reputable orphanages in DRC.  By giving what each of us has to give and taking One Small Step together, we can make a big difference.

One Small Step is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization run completely by volunteers. Orphanage site visits are conducted twice yearly to insure the children are well-cared for and healthy and that donor monies are spent responsibly.

For more information on the hardships facing the children of DRC, including the epidemic of children being accused of witchcraft, click here .