In 2023, three families—Kiswangi, Unruh, and Dayo—united in a common goal: To provide hope in a country they dearly love, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The story begins in Mukedi, a small village in the Bandundu region, where Leonard Kiswangi met the Unruh family, Mennonite missionaries living there. Leonard’s connection to the Unruhs grew, with him becoming a life-long friend to Donovan and Naomi, and a big-brother figure to Lysianne, Janinne, and Matadi.

In the early 1990s, when Donovan and Naomi retired from mission-work and returned to the United States, they hosted four Dayo children—Osbourne, Kenny, Kevin, and Nadia Dayo. With Lysianne and Janinne away at college, the Dayo kids, ages 10 to 15, became the Unruh’s second set of children.

A Trip “Home” Sparks the Desire to do Something:

Then, in March 2023, members of the Unruh family returned to the DRC for a visit. For Janinne and Lysianne, it ended their 30-year absence from the first country they had called home. Happily, though, the Unruh and Kiswangi families had kept in touch through the years, aided by email and WhatsApp. And, as an added bonus, Leonard’s partnership with several mission organizations had brought him (and his wife, Antoinette) to the United States on several occasions. So, when the plane landed on the tarmac, it was a FAMILY reunion.

As the sisters delighted in visiting special childhood memories—people, homes, rivers, food, markets, and more—dismay and sadness also set in. Through grown-up eyes, the level of need had become overwhelmingly apparent. The trip rekindled a strong desire to do something. And, they realized a hopeful path existed, one created by the work their friends and family, in the DRC, were already engaged in, like the Hope Center.

A Community-Based Initiative: The Hope Center

In the intervening years, Leonard had met and married Antoinette and raised a family in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital city. Through their own mission-work, the Kiswangi family had begun an outreach effort in Maluku, a Kinshasa suburb, to help at-risk women. Leonard and Antoinette established the Hope Center to help young women and single mothers develop employment skills beyond the horrible life of a sex worker.

Currently, the Hope Center offers sewing classes to cohorts of women. Each graduate from the 20-week program receives a sewing machine so she can set up a cottage industry, creating articles of clothing for resale.

Supporting Vulnerable Women: The Naomi Project:

The inspiring efforts of these friends led Janinne and Lysianne to think about how they could get involved and support what was already working, but could use a financial boost.

Thus, the seeds of the Naomi Project were planted.

Returning to the United States, Lysianne and Janinne shared their dream of creating a non-profit with the Dayos who eagerly agreed with the idea. A few years earlier, Osbourne and Kenny had also visited the DRC, and they too, had come away feeling dismayed and overwhelmed by what they had witnessed in their home country. They too, along with their siblings, desired to do something to improve Congolese lives in direct and tangible ways.

The Naomi Project launched with its first board meeting, in 2023, followed by to-do lists for board members.

Naming The Naomi Project:

The Naomi Project derives its name from the Christian bible story of Naomi and Ruth, two widowed and vulnerable women who survived and thrived because of their willingness to support and care for each other.

Without a husband to protect her, Ruth feared for her physical safety. Young, single women in the DRC are also tragically vulnerable, hence the need for ways to support themselves without resorting to sex work.

While Ruth, with Naomi’s urging and guidance, found a wealthy husband and produced a healthy heir, this story line is far from reality for most Congolese women.

Instead, many vulnerable Congolese women and their children suffer despairing poverty resulting from the lack of financial support and opportunities. Thus, the need for The Naomi Project and the Hope Center, offering a brighter future through job training and supportive services.

Plus, our biological and host mother’s name is Naomi; we thought it right to recognize her love of sewing and the service she gave to the women of Congo during her years living there.

The Naomi Behind the Naomi Project:

Naomi Reimer Unruh was born and raised on a farm outside Beatrice, Nebraska. Growing up in the Heartland during the 1940s and 1950s, Naomi learned to sew and keep house. However, attending college to become an elementary teacher changed her life’s direction. At Bethel College, in Kansas, she fell in love with and married Donovan Unruh, who felt a missionary calling to Africa.

In 1965, they arrived in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) where they raised three children, Lysianne, Janinne, and Matadi. Naomi also dedicated her efforts to teaching Congolese women to read and sew, creating a legacy of educated and skilled women. She also promoted the merits of family planning, believing that by having fewer children, women and their offspring benefited.

After 25 years, Naomi returned to the United States, where, in 1990, she and her husband Donovan provided refuge and education for four children from the Democratic Republic of Congo: Osbourne, Kevin, Kenny, and Nadia.

Naomi's vision endures through her children, grandchildren, and the individuals whose lives she has influenced. The Naomi Project, Inc., recognizes her passion and advances her impactful work, ensuring that her legacy of empowering Congolese women lives on.