A concert with the Abbotsford Men’s Choir takes place March 21 to raise funds for the Lazare Foundation in Abbotsford.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Bakerview Mennonite Brethren Church, 2285 Clearbrook Rd. Admission is by donation.
The Lazare Foundation was started by Michel Munga in 1998 to support children orphaned by AIDS and child soldiers needing to heal in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Lazare built an orphanage to house 75 children, but the facility was flooded by the Congo River in 2006.
New land was purchased and construction began, but there have been fundraising challenges, and the orphanage is not yet finished.
Children are currently living in the facility and are sleeping and eating on the floor while Lazare tries to raise the funds to install plumbing and electricity and purchase beds and other furnishings.
The government ordered Lazare to build a cement brick wall around the orphanage, which further reduced the funds available.
But Lazare has had some successes in the meantime, including the placement of 60 orphans in the homes of single mothers.
It has also purchased land to grow cassava and other vegetables for the orphanage and to share with single moms.