Saint Trust

2021
Mixed media on canvas
20" x 20"

About Saint Trust

The Tchukudu women are the strength behind all of the projects in Goma. They became the voice for the lost mothers of the Tchukudu Kids (140 orphans of our project Tchukudu Kids Home). They spoke about the atrocities that happened to them. They spoke of rape, murder and loss of children. They shed their tears with Cathy Cleary and me. They relived their worst nightmares in order to save the lives of their children and to find a new way of life. Cathy Cleary and I took it all in… both of us have been changed for life. We dedicate all we do to them… to the women who remain and the ones that have been lost. These are three of the women who have gone through the Tchukudu Women’s Training centre. They learned to sew, basket weave and tie-dye. They have community and their children go to school together at the Jonathan Holiday School. They are our sisters and I am honoured to make portraits of them. They hold grace and strength and they show us what is possible when the human spirit is tested to its ultimate depths. 

50% of the proceeds from this painting will go to the Volcano Relief Fund. Following the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo (May 22, 2021) and subsequent earthquakes, many of the Tchukudu Women’s homes were looted - their food, cooking utensils, beds and even their front doors were stolen. We are working now to rebuild and replace all that was lost. To donate directly to the Volcano Fund, see here